DESPITE a top table including promoter Frank Maloney, three title-holders and a British heavyweight famous for defeating Mike Tyson, new professional Tony Jeffries was the man attracting all the attention.

Jeffries, preparing for only his second bout since claiming Olympic bronze in Beijing, has attracted a sell-out 1,650 crowd for his first fight in his hometown tonight, when durable German Roy Meissner will provide his next test.

The mere fact that Sunderland’s Crowtree Leisure Centre is a sell-out for a fourround light-heavyweight contest is an indication of the 24-year-old’s potential.

His pulling power has drawn parallels with the early days of Ricky Hatton. Hatton became a box-office sensation, regularly attracting in excess of 20,000, but only after his early bouts used to be witnessed by less than 100 in Greater Manchester.

Maloney feels Jeffries is more than capable of becoming the region’s own Hitman.

“I believe he can go all the way,” said Maloney. “We have a winning formula. What convinces me he can go all the way? Tony sells tickets. To have 1,700 people turning up for his second pro fight is unheard of.

“Ricky Hatton didn’t even do that when he first started.

He did well, but people bought into him. Ricky has helped people in the North-East think we should get behind our own hero. It has helped.

“The North-East is a fanatical place for sport. I remember coming up here the night when Glenn McCrory lost his world title, Lennox Lewis was on the undercard on his second pro fight, and there were grown men crying. Tony could unite the whole North- East and that’s what he is setting out to do.”

Having become the first Tyne & Wear boxer to qualify for the Olympic Games he made the decision to turn professional and quickly disposed of Belarussian Aliaksandr Vayavoda in Barnsley in February.

“I’m similar to Hatton in that I’m down to earth, I’ll talk to anyone and sign autographs for anyone. I’m the lad next door, the same as everyone,”

said Jeffries, who scaled in at 12st 2lb compared with 37-year Meissner’s 12st 9lb.

“There are a lot of people who have been successful, Olympians, or whatever, who think they’re superstars already.

But I’m not. I’m the same person I always was and will be. I could get knocked out on Saturday and I would still be the same lad.”

Meissner arrives in the North-East from Leipzig, where he has won just two of his 11 fights, both by knockout, as a cruiserweight since turning professional 12 months ago.

And while many are predicting a routine second win for Jeffries, the Wearside light-heavyweight is not under-estimating his opponent.

“He will not want to come over and be bashed up by a skinny Englishman,” said Jeffries.

“It’s going to be mad.”

Jeffries knows about the importance of a good start to his career and has aspirations of fighting in front of thousands at the Stadium of Light, where he has been a regular supporting Sunderland for years.

“I trained for the Olympics for six years,” he said. “That was my ultimate goal in life and I finally got there.

“Now I have a few goals and boxing in Sunderland is one of them. I want to win a British Lonsdale belt outright. To do that I need to win three fights as champion. Then I want to be European and Commonwealth champion.

“But the big one for me is to win a world title in front of 60,000 at the Stadium of Light.”

■ There are still tickets left for tonight’s show at the Crowtree Leisure Centre in Sunderland, priced £40. For details call 0871 226 1508.

There are 11 bouts, including three title fights and an eliminator. European lightmiddleweight champion Jamie Moore, from Manchester, tops the bill and is looking to defend his crown against Ukraine’s Roman Dzuman.

Danny Williams, who defeated Mike Tyson five years ago, faces a re-match with John McDermott. Two other Sunderland boxers, Paul Holborn and Danny Hughes, will be in action, along with Newcastle’s John Lewis Dickinson and Travis Dickinson.