By Dean Parr
Hatton Promotions have won the right to promote Anthony Small's (23-1, 16 KOs) mandatory British middleweight title defence against the (15-1, 4 KOs) Sam Webb. It will take place on March 26th, 2010, and with this being a Friday, in all probability this will be shown on Sky Sports' Friday Fight Nights programme. At this juncture, it is unclear whether the Commonwealth strap of Small's will also be on the line.
Bizarrely, in his last fight, Deptford's Small fought Thomas McDonagh, who was beaten by Webb in an eliminator in May. Small beat Manchester's McDonagh, out-pointing him in a narrow, messy fight. After a distinctively average performance, Small will be looking to make a statement against Webb.
Since his 96-95 win over 'Stormboy', Sam Webb has fought once, albeit at a relatively low level. In this fight, he won every round (of a six session fight) against Paul Morby, who going into that bout held a lowly 5-4 record.
Webb vs. Small will take place in the famous York Hall in London, and theoretically, that should mean there will be a strong Webb following. Regardless of the fact Small is a Londoner, he relishes the role of the 'bad guy', and the Isle Of Dogs native Webb will likely be well supported.
Most will expect this to be a straightforward defence for Small, who has undoubtedly fought at a higher level, although Webb is a live contender. He'll be looking to impress in what is easily his biggest fight to date. Only time will tell if he has the tools in his arsenal to deal with Small's unorthodox approach.