Jack Shore is looking to take his progression to the next level with his first major fight on foreign soil at Cage Warriors 89 in Belgium.
Shore (6-0); who has exclusively competed in his home country of Wales as a professional, will venture outwards to Belgium to face another undefeated prospect, Ayton De Paepe (7-0).
The athlete from Abertillery has continued his impressive run as an undefeated professional with a third-round stoppage over late replacement, Mattia Galbiati at Cage Warriors 87.
Italian Galbiati was a late step-in for fellow countryman Federico Mini, who had been withdrawn from the bout on five days notice, citing an injury.
“Frustrating in the sense that he was a completely different obstacle,” said Shore explaining his feelings about the late shift in opponent. “If you’ve got to change the day before then that’s just how it goes, I’d rather that than not have a fight completely.”
After a brief adjustment period at the start of their fight, Shore was able to find his range and put the Italian to the canvas, with an emphatic finish in front of his adoring fans in Newport, Wales.
“Although he came at me hard, in the first minute or two, I was happy to try and keep him long and just avoid that takedown. But all in all, It felt good.
“Once I found my range with the jabs and the kicks I felt I really put them to use and really took over, there wasn’t a lot of the fight I didn’t feel in control of.”
With another win on his tally, the ‘Jack Shore’s on Fire’ movement continued to build momentum, with the 22-year-old expressing gratitude over his growing fan base.
“Saturday was my fourth televised fight on Cage Warriors, obviously having that exposure for 18 months pretty much and every single time I’m fighting,” he said. “The following is getting bigger and more people are joining on. More people just seem more invested and want me to do well.
“So it’s nice for me really to see that I know I’ve got that support because Wales, especially with sports, always get behind their own.
“I’ve got that big following now and I honestly think the way it’s going it’s only going to get bigger and better every time.”
Shore shoots down the notion of a quick turnaround for Cage Warriors 89
There may only be a month between his last appearance and his November 25 showdown at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp, but Shore shot down the notion of his fight against Paepe being a quick turn around.
“This fight got matched a lot time ago and I knew if I got through Saturday that this was the next fight and I’ve known that for a while.” Shore confirmed. I’m looking forward to it, It’s another step up and it’s a winnable fight no doubt.”
Serving as Shore’s first MMA contest outside of Wales as a pro, the Tillery Combat fighter is looking to call on his travelled experience as an amateur ahead of his Belgium excursion.
“Not so much an away day but I’m looking forward to the experience of obviously going away to fight,” he said. “I’ve done it as an amateur and I’ve done it when I boxed a little bit so it’s not completely unknown to me.
“People will be surprised at the amount of support I’m taking away with me, obviously, I’m going to be in enemy territory and I know that. It will be good to see the contrast of the Belgium atmosphere.”
When questioned about inevitably leaving the solace of home comforts, Shore rebutted with the logic of the biggest fighters developing the fan base in their own region, similar to Paddy Pimblett in Liverpool.
There have been numerous calls from Welsh media for Shore to sign with the UFC but with age and patience on his side, he is in no hurry to elude the path which potentially leads to the Cage Warriors featherweight championship.
“I just try and take one fight at a time. I’m 22, I’ve been pro for less than two years and the reality of it, 6-0, I’m still quite young in my pro career,” Shore said.
“You look at guys like Paddy, Nad [Narimani], [Arnold] Quero, they’ve all had like double the amount of fights I‘ve had, so as much as I’m looking to push my way to become a title contender or the UFC, I’ve still got to take one fight at the time.”
