Bellew-Makabu: Dodd Guaranteed Spot, But No Cardle Rematch

By Elliot Foster

Sean Dodd may have been unfortunate to have not come out victorious in his British title fight last weekend, but he has been handed some good news.

The Birkenhead lightweight (10-2-1, 2 KOs) looked a shoe-in to grab the Lonsdale belt in a rematch with Scotty Cardle at the ECHO Arena on Saturday (April 2), before some strange scorecards were turned in by the three ringside judges that meant the champion kept his crown by way of a majority draw.

That’s the second time that Dodd, 31, was unlucky not to win domestic honours after being  so close –– before being stopped in the last round –– in his first fight with the 26-year-old Lytham St Annes man (19-0-1, 6 KOs) back in November.

But light has appeared at the end of the tunnel for ‘Masher’, who –– after the aforementioned Cardle defeat –– was considering his career as a home fighter and toyed with the idea of going on the road as a journeyman.

He has been guaranteed a spot on the undercard of Tony Bellew’s vacant WBC cruiserweight title clash against Ilunga Makabu on June 4 –– and will contest a title to be confirmed –– live on Sky Sports.

His coach, Danny Kelly, confirmed the news via social media, taking to Facebook to write: “Unfortunately there will be no [third fight] with Cardle, but Sean Dodd will be fighting for a title on the undercard of Tony Bellew [against Ilunga Makabu for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title].

“As soon as we have confirmation of the title, I will let everyone know.”

The venue for Bellew’s clash with Makabu and the supporting cast is still being worked on, with Everton’s Goodison Park stadium and the ECHO Arena the front runners to hold the event.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has told Boxing Scene that “we’re working on it, trying to close it all off” and that an announcement will “hopefully” be made “this week.”