Newly minted British bantamweight champion Gary Davies gets the chance to prove his recent run of success is anything but luck when he defends his belt on Friday, September 11 at the Brentwood Centre in Essex, England. But the 26 year old slugger will be tested at the highest level when he is faced with the comeback of former European champion Ian Napa. Hackney wizard Napa, 18-7 (1), saw a five fight win streak, all for the British or European belts, dismantled by Frenchman Malik Bouzaine in March and the diminutive stylist knows his return to glory runs straight through Davies..
Davies, 9-2-1 (7), rose up from obscurity last December to brutally ruin the comeback of another former domestic kingpin, Martin Power, and then forcefully put down the challenge of Welshman Matthew Edmonds in April to annex the vacant British title.
At 31, Napa’s time is running out if he can’t find a way to disarm the larger and more powerful Davies on September 11 but the Londoner claims to have the combination to victory in what should turn out to be a thrilling contest from the first bell to the last.
The headliner at Brentwood Centre features English heavyweight champion John McDermott, 25-5 (16), facing streaking prospect Tyson Fury, 7-0 (7), in a torrid firefight that no genuine boxing fan can afford to miss.
Undercard action sees hot flyweight prospect Ashley Sexton, 7-0 (3), step up for a clash with seasoned ex-titlist Andy Bell, 11-4 (3), for the vacant English strap while a grudge match two years in the making sees English light middle kingpin Andrew Facey, 20-5-2 (6), rematch Gary Woolcombe, 27-2 (10).
Frank Maloney’s FTM Sports presents “Colossal”, the Heavyweight Championship of England between reigning titlist John McDermott and challenger Tyson Fury with full undercard on Friday, September 11, 2009 at The Brentwood Centre in Essex, England.
Tickets are priced £90 and £35 and are available from The Box Office on 0871 226 1508 and www.frankmaloney.com
Television details will be forthcoming.
Glover up next for O’Donnell
Tom Glover is ready to cement his reputation as boxing’s new Cinderella Man when he takes on reigning Commonwealth Welterweight Champion John O’Donnell at the Watford Colosseum on September 5th. The two men clash in the main event of a Hennessy Sports event live on ITV4 and Glover believes he can defy the odds once again against O’Donnell who has been included on the shortlist for the BBBofC’s Young Boxer of the Year award. The past year has seen the Southern Area Welterweight Champion score a string of upset wins culminating in a points victory over former British and European Champ Jon Thaxton last time out. That win secured the 28-year-old Maldon man a shot at O’Donnell and he’s confident he can keep his winning run going.
“My confidence is sky high right now,” revealed Glover. “I always believed I was better than the results in the early part of my career showed and I’m proving that now. I think the Thaxton fight has made a lot of people sit up and take notice. I was very confident going in to that fight because I’d sparred with him before and I knew exactly what I’d have to do to win.
“He’s a very big puncher for his weight but I knew that the longer the fight went the more it would suit me and although I’m not the biggest puncher in the world my punches were taking their toll on him and if the fight had been over 10 or 12 rounds I might even have got a stoppage.”
Now Glover is gearing himself up to take another big scalp in the shape of O’Donnell and he realises that the slick, southpaw will present a whole new challenge.
“O’Donnell’s a southpaw like Thaxton but he’s going to be a completely different proposition style wise. It’s still going to be the same situation for me because I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“I’ve seen plenty of O’Donnell and I know he’s going to be very difficult to pin down. He’s tall, rangy, has very quick hands and he’s quite skilful as well. I’m sure there will be times early on in the fight where he’ll be outclassing me in terms of skill but the longer the fight goes the more I’ll get stuck in. I’m going to have to drag him into a fight but I believe I can do that.
“It’s no secret that the way I fight I have to take a few punches to get in a few of my own but that’s not a problem for me. I’ll have to force him to stand and fight but he’s not the biggest puncher in the world so I’ll be happy enough to stay in range and keep the pressure on him. The longer a fight goes the more it suits me and I’m confident that once I get into the later rounds I can start to take over with my work rate.”
The main event promises to be an action packed affair but the chief support at the Watford Colosseum is also set to be a sure fire thriller with Lee Purdy and Peter McDonagh staging a rematch of their first thrilling encounter last December.
On that occasion McDonagh handed Purdy the first defeat of his career when he edged out the Colchester prospect on points to claim the Southern Area Light Welterweight title. This time around the two men will contest the Southern Area Welterweight crown which has been just been vacated by Glover.
The undercard also features unbeaten prospects Logan McGuinness, Richard Towers, Bradley Evans and Bobby “Boogaloo” Ward alongside the pro debut of Brendan Ingle’s new Yemeni sensation Kid Galahad (subject to board approval). Tickets priced £35, £40 and £75 are available from the Ticketline box office on 0844 888 4402 or via www.ticketline.co.uk.
Nathan Cleverly Makes Belfast Debut
Rising star Nathan Cleverly is aiming for an explosive performance to keep in the public eye as he heads up an exciting under-card in Belfast on October 9. The 22-year-old will defend his Commonwealth light-heavyweight crown in his Irish debut as chief support to Martin Rogan and Sam Sexton’s grudge fight for the Commonwealth heavyweight title. Clev, who has been nominated for this year’s prestigious Boxing Writers’ Young Boxer of the Year, is aiming for win number 18 at the Odyssey Arena. The Welsh maths wizard has been in spectacular form in the last few months, adding the British title to his collection in July with a stunning stoppage win over Danny McIntosh.
Cleverly’s challenger will be name shortly, but he says he’ll KO whoever is in the opposite corner.
“I feel like I’m on fire at the moment,” he said. “I know Clinton Woods is fighting for a world title, but I reckon I am the best light-heavyweight in the country and I’d love to fight him, anytime.
“I have won my last four fights by stoppage, and I’m going to make it five out of five on October 9 and really put myself in the spotlight.
“People will see the best of me the more I fight, and appearing regularly is really bringing out the best in me.
“Ireland has some of the most passionate fans in the world, and I can’t wait to show everyone over there what I’m made of.
“By this time next year I want to have moved on to the world stage, and I am so confident that I will get there.”
Joining Cleverly on the card will be former British welterweight champion and current Irish light-middleweight king Neil Sinclair, who appears in an eight rounder.
His fellow Ulsterman Kevin O’Hara will also be boxing, along with Ciaran Healy, super-middleweight prospect Joe Rea and flyweight debutant Jamie Conlan.
Tickets, priced at £25 (tier), £30 (tier), £40 (central tier), £60 (floor), £100 (floor) and £150 (ringside) are available from:
Odyssey Arena Box Office
02890 739 074
www.odysseyarena.com
Ticketmaster
0870 243 4455
www.ticketmaster.ie
Frank Warren Promotions
01992 550 888
www.frankwarren.tv