Meet bright 21-year-old Brit Mikie Tallon who scored spiteful first-round KO on Tyson Fury undercard

Appearances can be deceiving, especially in boxing.

The unassuming Mikie Tallon looks more like a choir boy than a pugilist, but when he flips the switch, there is no mistaking his profession.

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A product of Joe Gallagher’s ‘Champs Camp’, Tallon fights with the type of spite that has become synonymous with the gym.

It is this juxtaposing combination of youthful looks and violent temperament that has earned him the nickname ‘The Omen’ – an obvious nod to David Seltzer’s 1976 horror classic about the son of the devil.

“When I first came to the gym, Joe said I looked dead young, he thought I was a schoolboy,” Tallon, 21, told talkSPORT.com.

“Then he put me in the ring with some of the older lads, including Paul Butler (two-time bantamweight world champion), and he said I was nasty like ‘The Omen’ and the nickname stuck.”

Tallon first stepped through the doors of the Moss Side sweatbox when he was 18 years old.

He had just turned over with manager and two-weight world champion Natasha Jonas after winning his fourth national amateur title.

Gallagher guided the switch-hitter through the embryonic stages of his professional career, carefully building the youngster’s record against durable journeymen.

His promise eventually caught the eye of Saudi boxing mogul Turki Alalshikh, who offered Tallon a fight on the Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford public workout in Las Vegas.

“I was stunned when I saw he had tweeted about wanting me on the card,” added Tallon.

“My mum phoned in the morning when I was driving to the gym, and she said, ‘Have you seen this?’ and I was like ‘no’.

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“Then, I got out of the car, saw it and was like, what the f***.

“I still don’t know how he found out about me.”

Tallon rose to the occasion, dropping California’s Christian Robles twice en route to a lopsided unanimous decision win.

The impressive performance led to other big opportunities on Riyadh Season cards on the other side of the pond.

In his first major British boxing showcase, Tallon sent Fezan Shahid’s head into orbit with a booming fifth-round knockout win on the Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn II bill last November at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Five months later, he returned to the same venue for another high-profile slot on the Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard.

Keen to upstage his previous showing in the English capital, Tallon blew away Argentinian Olympian Leandro Jose Blanc with a blistering first-round bodyshot knockout.

“I was made up with performance,” continued the 13-0 flyweight prospect.

“All week I was thinking about how I could do any better than my stoppage last time.

“And then I got the first round stoppage.

“Hopefully, I get another opportunity to prove to everyone that I’m continuing to get better.

“I want to stay active now and continue learning from Joe.

“I’ve been out twice this year, so if I can get another two or three this year, I will be happy.”

Boxing schedule

For all the upcoming fights and results this year, check out talkSPORT.com’s  boxing schedule.