Manchester star boxes in Bolton on June 29

Super bantamweight star Scott Quigg has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Sport and will debut under new promoter Eddie Hearn at the USN Bolton Arena on June 29, live on Sky Sports in Betfair’s ‘Rock & Croll’.

The unbeaten interim WBA champion features in a ten-rounder on the stacked bill topped by fellow Manchester fighter Anthony Crolla in a mouth-watering lightweight clash with Welshman Gavin Rees, and Quigg is raring to get into action again after a barren spell on the sidelines.

“I'm delighted to have signed a deal with Matchroom Sport and it's great to have a fight so soon,” said Quigg. “I've been in training for a long time and with a new start with a new promoter.

“I'm always in the gym, I love training. But a fighter always wants to be in the ring fighting, that's where you learn and you also make your money to pay your bills. I've got the same hunger as always and I just want to get active again and I think Matchroom Sport and Sky Sports is the place to get that. I can't wait to get back in there, that's where I'm at home and I've missed it.

“We're getting the ball rolling in Bolton, I've had one fight in a year so it's about getting the momentum going and looking to make waves in the division again.

“No-one sees how hard I train, no-one sees the effort and dedication that I put in to get to the top. I came into boxing wanting to be a World champion, I don't want to settle at British or European - I've come in to be the best. You might need a bit of luck here and there but I think I have the ability and I know I have the desire and dedication to make it happen.”

“I’m delighted to welcome Scott Quigg to the team,” said Hearn “He is on the cusp of challenging for a world title, and with the backing of Matchroom Sport and Sky Sports we believe he’ll get there and stay there for a long time.”

“It's a fantastic signing for Matchroom, they've got a real coup with Scott,” said Quigg’s trainer Joe Gallagher. “He's the interim WBA champ, the young boxer of the year last year, he's still young and he's an exciting talent. He lit up the MEN Arena when he beat Rendall Munroe and I think, in football terms, it's the transfer of the season.

“I only have to look at the way George Groves has been handled by Eddie Hearn, that's something that I want for Scott. He needs to get back on the horse, a couple of fights under his belt before going for the big one. Scott was on a diet of southpaw for a year with the Rendall Munroe fight, so he needs to get the momentum going.”

Quigg is the latest big name addition to a star-studded card in Bolton, topped by Rees and Crolla, with Liverpool super middleweights Paul Smith and Tony Dodson scrapping for the vacant British title, light middleweight Brian Rose taking on Alexey Ribchev and Team GB’s Olympic boxing captain Thomas Stalker joined by young stars Martin J. Ward, Dale Evans and Maxi Hughes.

Tickets are on sale now priced £40, £70 ringside and £120 VIP. Tickets are available at www.matchroomboxing.com or by calling 01277 359900.

Welsh star steps up to World class on massive July bill

Lee Selby will face unbeaten Viorel Simion on the Betfair’s ‘The Homecoming’ bill at the MS3 Craven Park in Hull on July 13, live on Sky Sports.

The Welsh featherweight star switches from the Bolton show on June 29 to meet the Romanian on the bumper outdoor show topped by the debut of Olympic Gold medal star Luke Campbell MBE. It’s a huge night for Selby who has excelled in the last 18 months, claiming the British and Commonwealth titles in style against Stephen Smith and impressing in defences against John Simpson, Patrick Okine, Martin Lindsay and Corey O’Connell.

The 31 year old Simion won the WBC International title in July 2011 and has defended the belt successfully twice since, and Selby’s promoter Eddie Hearn is excited by the prospect of seeing Selby tested at a higher level.

“I’m delighted to have been able to bring Viorel over for this fight,” said Hearn. “It’s Lee’s first big test on the World stage and having watched Viorel in action, I think we can expect a cracking fight where Lee will show everybody just how good he is.”

Selby and Simion feature on a massive night of action to close the boxing season on Sky Sports, with Campbell’s debut supported by the blockbuster welterweight rematch between unbeaten Sheffield star Kell Brook and American danger man Carson Jones, Derry Mathews and Hull’s Tommy Coyle for the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title, English super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding, unbeaten middleweight sensation John Ryder, light welterweight Curtis Woodhouse and local talents Joel Haigh and Zak Collins.

Tickets for Betfair’s ‘The Homecoming’ are on sale now priced £25, £40, £60 and £100 from www.hullkr.com – VIP packages priced £150 are available exclusively from Matchroom Boxing at www.matchroomboxing.com and on 01277 359900.

Promoter wants huge rematch then big summer show with Groves

Eddie Hearn says he wants Carl Froch to face either Mikkel Kessler or Andre Ward in the winter before a huge all-British summer clash with George Groves.

Froch exacted revenge on Kessler in a blockbuster night at the O2 Arena on May 25, adding the WBA belt to his IBF strap in a thrilling contest on Sky Sports Box Office.

With Froch spending time with his family after partner Rachael had their second child, Natalia, just before the fight, Hearn’s attentions are on The Cobra’s next moves, and the promoter has two massive dates in mind.

“Now that the dust has settled after a memorable night for Carl Froch and British boxing, it’s time to start looking to the future,” said Hearn. “Every man and his dog have been calling Carl out, that comes with the territory but commercially, Froch v Kessler III is just a huge fight. The first two were stunning nights and everyone knows what they would get from the decider.

“Each one has been brutal so we will give Mikkel and his body time to see if he wants to go again. I have made contact with Ward’s promoter and we are ready to begin discussions with them and HBO. For us, the fight would have to happen wherever it would make the most financial sense and that’s the UK.”

As well as targeting a huge winter night for Froch, Hearn is planning a summer extravaganza for the Nottingham star – and says an all-British unification bout with ‘Saint’ George Groves would be something special.

“We will look to fight this winter and then lead into a big stadium fight next summer,” said Hearn. “I believe by then George will be World Champion which would make this fight one of the biggest the country has ever seen.”

Photography by Lawrence Lustig.

SMITH: IT’S WIN OR BUST IN DODSON REMATCH

 

Liverpool super middleweight warns local rival he is stronger than before

Paul Smith believes the it could be the end of the road for the loser of his clash with Tony Dodson for the vacant British super middleweight title fight at the USN Bolton Arena on June 29, live on Sky Sports in Betfair’s ‘Rock & Croll’.

The Liverpool pair meet in a rematch of their 2010 bout, which saw Smith claim the British title with a unanimous decision, and the 30 year old knows defeat in Lancashire is not an option for either fighter.

“Of course, it is going to be hard for whoever loses the fight,” said Smith. “This is the biggest fight of my life because every fight I have is the biggest fight of my life. Any fight I lose could be the end because I don’t want to be one of those fighters who are getting losses, coming back, getting losses, coming back.

“I lost to George Groves and it was a bitter pill to swallow, the way I did lose and the way it happened, because I felt I was prepared right and I just got chinned, got caught with one of those shots you don’t see, and that is boxing.

“I can’t answer for Tony. Everyone knows what he is like, he never says never, I thought he would have retired after losing to Ovill McKenzie but he chanced his arm and has come back down to super middleweight. I do feel he is a super middleweight, he is a big super middle but he is not a light heavyweight.

“In the first fight Tony was going on about how much stronger he would be than me, he was saying he is bigger than me and more established at super middleweight, but I proved on the night that he wasn’t as strong as me and I more or less bullied him out of it which is what he was expecting to do to me.

“I have only got stronger in the last three years, I certainly haven’t got weaker, and I can’t see him gaining any more strength in the last three years.”

Smith and Dodson’s British title fight is part of a huge bill in Bolton, topped by the mouth-watering lightweight tussle between Welshman Gavin Rees and Manchester’s Anthony Crolla. Rees’ fellow countryman Lee Selby will be in action as he closes in on major honours in the featherweight division.

Brian Rose will box for the first time since beating Joachim Alcine for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental light middleweight title in April and some of Matchroom Boxing’s brightest talent will also be in action, including Team GB’s Olympic boxing captain Thomas Stalker.

Tickets are on sale now priced £40, £70 ringside and £120 VIP. Tickets are available at www.matchroomboxing.com or by calling 01277 359900.

Taylor, Shinkwin and Owen to box in tournament at York Hall

Ryan Taylor, Liam Shinkwin and Tony Owen are the final three names in the Betfair Prizefighter Light Welterweights III live on Sky Sports from the York Hall, Bethnal Green on July 6.

The sold-out night will also feature Kevin Mitchell’s return to action in a ten-rounder as the lightweight aims to get back on the World title trail after falling to WBO king Ricky Burns in a thrilling challenge in Glasgow last September.

Old friends Taylor (7-1-1) and Shinkwin (6-0-1) clashed for the Southern Area lightweight title at Wembley Arena in March, with the latter taking a points decision and his former sparring partner’s ‘0’. Taylor will be desperate to gain revenge if the draw pits the pair together.

Carshalton’s Owen (14-1) is no stranger to York Hall and the southpaw will be looking to launch himself onto the big stage and into title contention with success in east London.

The final trio join Chris Evangelou (9-2), Danny Connor (8-5-1), Southampton’s Matty Tew (12-1) and unbeaten pair Eren Arif (3-0) and Charlie Rice (6-0) in battling for the title and the £32,000 winner’s cheque.

Photography by Lawrence Lustig

Unbeaten middleweight lining up valuable rounds ahead of title bid

John Ryder will box on the bumper undercard of Olympic Gold medallist Luke Campbell’s debut show at MS3 Craven Park in Hull on July 13, live on Sky Sports in Betfair’s ‘The Homecoming’.

The unbeaten middleweight will get some vital rounds under his belt ahead of a British title showdown with fellow London hotshot Billy Joe Saunders later in the year.

Ryder – 14-0 with eight wins inside the distance – further bolsters a formidable undercard line-up featuring the welterweight rematch between unbeaten Sheffield star Kell Brook and American Carson Jones, a fiery battle between Hull’s Tommy Coyle and Liverpool’s Derry Mathews for the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title and English super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding defending his belt against Martin Concepcion.

“It’s great to be on the Hull bill and get some good rounds in before the summer,” said Ryder. “I’m ready to step up to title action and the fight with Saunders later in the year is massive. Fighting on a big outdoor show with a huge crowd live on Sky is the perfect end to a great season for me and great preparation for Billy Joe.”

Tickets for Luke Campbell’s pro debut featuring unbeaten middleweight star John Ryder are on sale now priced £25, £40, £60 and £100 from www.hullkr.com– VIP packages priced £150 are available exclusively from Matchroom Boxing at www.matchroomboxing.com and on 01277 359900.

After a straight first five wins in his professional career, Sanquhar's Rhys Pagan feels the time is right for him to move to six rounds, with his next pencilled bout on June 28th at Cleland Miners Club.


“I have had my first fights at the four round distance, now I am glad to be moving up to six. I am in no rush as I am still only 19. At this stage I am savouring every minute of every round to make sure I get the best in ring education.


The undefeated Welterweight is currently scheduled to fight over the six round distance for the first time, and Pagan takes the extra training in his stride “The training means more pad work, more sparring and more road work. This keeps me ticking over and ready to push my opponent hard to pick up the win.


He adds “I will train for the rounds and look forward to getting back to the ring on June 28th. It will have been just over three months since my last fight so it will be good to get the fight on. Its a competitive division and we will use this fight to build up a title shot at the end of the year or next year, however I am not in any rush.


He adds “We should be getting confirmation of our next opponent soon, but I know my manager Paul is looking at a few different options.


Prospect Boxing present an evening of Professional Boxing the pro debut of Martin McCord and the return of trio Sean Watson, Rhys Pagan and Mark Parvin in a four fight card at the Cleland Miners Welfare Club on Friday June 28th.


Tickets priced £35 are available from the boxers or by calling 01698 338 888 or from the fighters direct





Further information available from www.prospectboxing.co.uk or www.facebook.com/ProspectBoxing or via twitter @ProspectBoxing