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Josh Warrington 17-0 (2) has quickly turned into one of British boxing’s surprise packages over the last six months. The 23 year old had been defending his English Featherweight title around smaller venues from the West Midlands to his home city of Leeds before an opportunity came along that has taken him to new heights.
The story of the four fighting Smith brothers from Liverpool is one that seems to gain momentum and greater attention with each passing month. Last year, the British boxing media were rightly raving about the feats achieved by Paul, Stephen and Liam all becoming British champions at the same time as one another at super middleweight, super featherweight and light middleweight respectively. The first time that one household has held three British titles at once. And with the youngest of the bunch, Callum, being the prospect on everyone’s lips what odds that all four become world champions before their careers are over?
Before Eddie Hearn flew out for this week’s IBF convention in Atlantic City, BoxingScene managed to grab a word with the Matchroom Promoter to discuss some topics from their latest show on Sat night in Cardiff, Wales that was entitled ‘The Second Coming’. It proved to be a night of fighters inching closer to world title shots, a body-punching prospect showing he has the world at his feet, a former world champion getting back in the game and another former world champion bidding farewell to a 16-year professional career.
Martin Murray 27-1-1 (12) is now in a much better place thanks to Rodney Berman and his Golden Gloves Promotional group based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The former World Middleweight title challenger became a free agent in February when Hatton Promotions announced that they would not be renewing the 31 year old’s contract thus ending their five year relationship with the fighter. Pastures new then for the man from St. Helens but first that meant speaking to other promoters from around the world. In the end, however, there was only one that proved too good to turn down.
BoxingScene.com understands that British super middleweight George Groves is expected to sign with German based promotional outfit, Sauerland, with an announcement expected tomorrow. Groves 19-1 (15) is currently in training for his much anticipated rematch with bitter rival Carl Froch 32-2 (23) for his IBF and WBA titles which will take place in front of an expected 80,000 people on May 31 at Wembley Stadium.
The spotlight may be on the likes of Lee Selby, Nathan Cleverly and Callum Smith during Matchroom Boxing’s ‘Second Coming’ show in Cardiff on Sat night but if their first fight is anything to go by, the lightweight rematch between fellow Welshmen Gavin Rees 37-4-1 (18) and Gary Buckland 28-3 (9) will once again steal all the headlines.
Nathan Cleverly 26-1 (12) has his first fight under the Matchroom banner this Sat night at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena and despite thinking long and hard about ending his long-term association with previous promoter Frank Warren, the Welshman believes that a fresh start was needed all round. “It was a difficult decision, don’t get me wrong,” the former WBO light heavyweight champion told BoxingScene.
The Hennessy Sports Maxinutrition Knockout Tournament for light heavyweights reaches its semi-final stage this Saturday night in Leeds and one of the final four, Matty Clarkson 12-1-2 (3), says a win against Travis Dickinson 16-1 (6) will finally see him arrive on the big stage. Clarkson, 27, who is having to learn his trade in the professional ranks quickly after experiencing only 12 amateur fights will be looking to take Dickinson’s English light heavy strap and earn a place in the final against British champion, Bob Ajisafe, or his opponent Leon Senior.
Eddie Hearn has a lot of faith and expectation in his young super-middleweight prospect Callum Smith 10-0 (8) and this was intensified even more when Matchroom’s Boxing promoter talked last week about the bigger picture for the 24-year-old and expects the rising star to be in the “mega domestic Super Middleweight mix within 18 months”. Big statements from boxing promoters are par for the course but with Smith it’s easy to see why most people are excited about his future. But when BoxingScene caught up with him earlier this week, I asked him if he agreed with Hearn’s comments.
Unbeaten British super-middleweight prospect, Callum Smith 10-0 (8) spoke to BoxingScene this week about Saturday night’s comments from Chris Eubank Sr. that the only man who could beat his son, Eubank Jr 15-0 (10), from 160 to 168 lbs would be Andre Ward. After Eubank Jr had toyed and played with Robert Swierzbinski 13-3 (3), the outspoken middleweight contender then went on to stop his man in the seventh round of their eight round contest. It was a bout that saw Swierzbinski hit the deck seven times.