By Elliot Foster
Ohara Davies will be back in action in a couple of months.
The undefeated Hackney fighter is set to defend his WBC Silver super-lightweight title on March 4, exclusively live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Davies (14-0, 11 KOs) has been pitted against Derry Mathews (38-11-2, 20 KOs), the Liverpudlian with whom a showdown has been mooted for some time, as part of the supporting cast to David Haye’s heavyweight showdown against Tony Bellew at the O2 Arena in London.
Boxing Scene reported last week that an offer had been made for the fight to happen on the Haye-Bellew card and it was confirmed by Matchroom’s press office on Monday afternoon.
Mathews goes into the fight on the back of a knockout defeat at the hands of Olympic champion Luke Campbell in October, while 24-year-old Davies won the aforementioned belt last time out with a comprehensive unanimous points victory over Italy’s Andrea Scarpa.
“I'm here to win world titles,” Davies said in a media release. “Derry Mathews' name must be added to my KO record for me to continue the journey.
“Come [fight night] I will be in the best shape of my life, and I will retire Derry Mathews for good.”
The pair have been embroiled in a social media war of words for weeks on end and the show’s promoter Eddie Hearn has been keen to make the fight ever since.
And now it’s confirmed, 33-year-old veteran Mathews, who has won British, Commonwealth and fringe world honours in his 14 years as a professional, wants to show the Londoner who’s boss.
“I have to shut him up, he’s done my head in. I just want to smash him to bits,” Mathews said.
“I don’t know where all this has come from because I don’t know the kid – is it all for publicity or is he really that mouthy and disrespectful? I’ve never met him so I couldn’t say, but he seems a strange one.
“As soon as I was offered the fight I jumped at it. I want to beat him bad.
“There will be lots of Scousers there but I think half of London wants me to beat him too. He’s got a horrible attitude and he comes across badly on social media. He’s trying to be a bad boy but he’s hanging out with TV stars from TOWIE [The Only Way Is Essex]. I don’t know what he is –– is he a London bad boy or an Essex TV star?
“I don’t think he knows himself, but I know he’ll be getting in a cab home after the fight with Arg [TV star James Argent] and no belt.”
Further undercard additions to the David Haye vs. Tony Bellew card will be revealed in due course.