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WE HAD TO put our thinking caps on and get a bit creative when it came to identifying the ideal location to stage the WBO Interim super middleweight world title fight between Billy Joe Saunders and Shefat Isufi. Potential avenues towards staging the fight in London were exhausted before we struck on the idea of showcasing Billy Joe on his home patch, so we are giving Hertfordshire a whirl.
NEWS THAT DANIEL Dubois and Joe Joyce have been nominated by the board to fight each other for the British heavyweight title has created huge anticipation and a fair bit of skepticism. This is how it is from our side. Daniel has got a big fight against the 14-1 big puncher Richard Lartey at the SSE Arena, Wembley on April 27.
CARL FRAMPTON IS now ideally positioned for his next tilt at becoming a world champion again following our collaboration with Top Rank for the promotion of his future fights. Coming off the back of an unsuccessful shot at the IBF featherweight title held by Josh Warrington, the likelihood is that Carl would’ve had to travel in order to challenge the likes of WBO champion Oscar Valdez in any case.
SAM BOWEN HAS made relatively light work of the opponents who have been put in front of him so far in his unbeaten professional career, which is probably why it has been hard work finding many willing takers to go in with him. The rise of the supremely talented super featherweight has been blighted by potential opponents rejecting the invitation to challenge him since he was mandated for his first eliminator and title opportunity.
Daniel Dubois executed a spectacular finish against Razvan Cojanu and I think he made a bit of a statement in there with his second round stoppage. He probably did more of a job on him than Luis Ortiz and that can’t be bad for a kid who had only had nine fights beforehand. Watching his ruthless approach to his boxing, you would not believe what a nice kid Daniel is and the truth of the matter is he just loves doing what he does. He is one who was born and bred to box, no doubt about that.
NATHAN GORMAN WILL find himself in a curious position when he takes his seat at ringside on Friday night for the occasion of boxing making its long-awaited return to the magnificent Royal Albert Hall. Nathan is heading south to watch his fellow young heavy Daniel Dubois attempt to out-do him in how he goes about the job of quashing the threat of Razvan Cojanu, who the Nantwich man outpointed at the Manchester Arena in December.
One fighter who I am sure will illuminate the near 150-year-old concert hall is Anthony Yarde, who has got a good fight on his hands against the American Travis Reeves. Reeves, from Baltimore, has expressed considerable confidence coming into the fight and vows to expose the hype that surrounds Anthony, so our man will need to be on his guard and not show any complacency.
I PERFECTLY UNDERSTAND why there has been a certain amount of hand-wringing amongst boxing fans over the decision to temporarily abort the planned rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.Fans rightly want to see the best fight the best at the optimum time, as does everybody else in the business. But that is what it is, a business, and our new broadcast and promotional partners in the US want to maximise the potential of what is a great heavyweight showdown by placing it later in the year.
TYSON FURY HAS stolen a march on his heavyweight rivals and is in prime position to crack the American market after signing his US broadcast deal with ESPN, by far the biggest sporting network Stateside. It is a landmark deal for the rejuvenated Tyson following on from his stunning resurrection against Deontay Wilder in December, where he proved that he remains the main man to be reckoned with amongst the heavy mob.
We had to work very hard and pull out all the stops behind the scenes to deliver Billy Joe Saunders a shot at another world title and now it is down to him to join the club of two-weight world champions by taking care of business against the WBO No.1 ranked Shefat Isufi.