By Elliot Foster
Jamie Cox is back in action this weekend and there will be a belt on the line.
The Swindon southpaw, who was originally set for action in Germany on September 24 before the card was cancelled due to injury to one of the main event fighters, has not laced up the gloves since last November.
Cox, whose birth name is Simon Russan, has had his fair share of out-of-the-ring skirmishes during his hiatus.
But the 30-year-old former WBO European champion (20-0, 12 KOs) will return this Saturday, on October 22, at the Bolton Whites Hotel, exclusively live on BoxNation.
He’ll come up against Martin Fidel Rios (20-9-3, 11 KOs) over 12 rounds, with the vacant WBO Inter-Continental crown at stake.
Rios has been on these shores before, having been convincingly outpointed on all three judges’ scorecards by Jimmy Kelly Jr. 12 months ago, eight weeks before Kelly boxed Liam Smith in a challenge for the WBO world title.
The Argentine comes into the bout on the back of a three-fight winning streak and recently held the WBC and IBF Latino belts.
This weekend’s card in the North West was due to be headlined by the British cruiserweight title final eliminator between Belfast’s Tommy McCarthy and Matty Askin, but the clash has since been postponed until Saturday, November 19, at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester due to a slight shoulder injury suffered by McCarthy.
Also on the bill this Saturday, Frank Warren-promoted former IBF bantamweight champion Paul Butler fights for the first time since March in what is his inaugural outing under new trainer Joe Gallagher.
