Orange boxer Sam Ah-See’s response - a fit of laughter.

Ah-See takes on Shannon ‘Shaggy’ King in Friday night’s Australian National Boxing Federation super welter-weight title fight at the Orange Function Centre, and the Orange native struggled to hide his amusement after hearing King’s taunts.

King showed no hesitation in saying he “is coming to knock him [Ah-See] out”, and that Ah-See won’t “ever have been hit as hard as I’ll hit him”.

King’s record gives his claims credence, with seven fights for seven wins, all knockouts. King’s muay thai career also netted him 34 wins from 38 fights, with 25 knockouts leading to Ah-See’s manager Matt Rose labelling him “Brisbane’s knock-out king” in a press release yesterday.

Once Ah-See had composed himself after a flurry of laughter he returned fire, albeit slightly more reservedly.

“He has to hit me at all first,” Ah-See said, before adding the slanging match would add fuel to the fire.

“That’s what I want, I like hearing him say those things. At least I know he’s coming to fight.”

Ah-See, a four-time Australian amateur champion, has an almost equally imposing record of 10 fights, for nine wins and a draw. Six of Ah-See’s wins have come from knockouts.

He was also awarded the Rising Star Trophy by the NSW Veteran Boxing Association for the best upcoming professional prospect last year, and is ranked number two in the country.

The 22-year-old southpaw said King’s biggest asset, his power, would be his downfall.

“Honestly, he’s slow, and I’m fast,” Ah-See said. 

“I’ve never seen someone [in this weight class] with such slow hand-speed. He moves like a super heavy-weight. Even if he does get me, the one thing I have absolute faith in is my chin.

“But, as I said, he’s got to hit me first.”