Tony Bellew has vowed to keep up the pressure on rival Nathan Cleverly with a KO win tomorrow night. The Bomber defends his Commonwealth light-heavyweight crown in central London on Frank Warren’s annual charity card for DebRA, live on Sky Sports. Bob Ajisafe is his opponent, but Bellew already has his sights on greater things. They include a showdown with unbeaten Welshman Cleverly, who is in line to fight for a world title next. “I’d like to congratulate Nathan on a great win on Saturday against Karo Murat,” said Bellew..
“I was at the show in Birmingham and Nathan looked a class act.
“I’ll be his biggest supporter and hope he keeps winning until I get him in the ring.
“When we do finally meet I am confident I would do a number on him.
“I’ve not seen anyone put him under real pressure yet, but I would do that.
“I’m sure we will fight and it will be a massive event. By the time we meet there might be two or three world titles on the line, not just one.”
Bellew is currently unbeaten in 13 fights, with nine wins inside the distance.
And the former three-time heavyweight ABA champion is looking to improve that record against Ajisafe.
“He’s got a decent record and it won’t be an easy fight,” said Bellew.
“His only defeat came in Prizefighter, and he’s knocked off at least one prospect, so I can’t take anything for granted.
“But I want to really impress after Cleverly’s performance last week, and nothing less than a spectacular knockout will do.”
APPLEBY KEEPS BUSY
Scottish star Paul Appleby keeps busy against Mickey Coveney on Friday ahead of a potential title shot.
Appleby is desperate to get back into championship contention after losing his British title to Martin Lindsay.
He returned to action earlier this month with an explosive second round stoppage in Scotland.
And promoter Frank Warren is ensuring he has no ring rust by putting him on his annual charity DebRA card in London, live on Sky Sports.
Appleby meets Coveney over eight rounds at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, and is gunning for another quick win.
“I felt great after my last fight, after nearly a year out of boxing it was great to be back,” he said.
“Now I want another good win against Coveney, and hopefully I can get a title fight by the end of the year.
“I know Frank is putting on a big show in Glasgow in December, and I want to be a part of that.”
Appleby, still only 23, boxed at super-featherweight for the first time in his last outing, but is yet to decide whether to move up from featherweight.
He will know more after his fight against Coveney, which could prove a tough one.
“Mickey had a great win over an unbeaten prospect in his last fight, so he’ll definitely be dangerous,” he added.
“I can’t take this one lightly, and I’m aiming to get him out of there as quickly as possible.”
Manchester Arndale to host European title Weigh In
LONDON (22th Sept) Manchester’s European Champion John Murray and his “barmy army” will get there first look at his challenger Andrey Kudriavtsev of the Ukraine at the official weigh in when both fighters step on the scales at the Manchester Arndale this Friday 24th September.
Murray said “I’m expecting Andrey to be in great shape, he has had plenty of notice for this fight plus he only fought 4 weeks ago.”
The weigh in will commence from 3pm at the Exchange Court.
“Having the weigh in back at the fantastic Manchester Arndale is a big boost, I had great support last October for the weigh in with John Thaxton and it showed I had the backing of the people in Manchester.” A delighted Murray added.
Mick Hennessy, John Murray’s promoter said “I would like to personally thank the Manchester Arndale for all of their hard work and co operation with setting this up, it was a massive success last time and hopefully John will have the same support on Friday. If John can win in style on Saturday he will be on the verge of a major World title fight and I know he would love nothing more to bring that World title back to Manchester.”
General Manager for Manchester Arndale, Glen Barkworth, adds: “We’re looking forward to welcoming John Murray back to Manchester Arndale and giving fans the chance to see their boxing hero once more. His weigh-in last year certainly caused a stir in centre and I’m sure he’ll have the same level of support this time round.”
Also weighing in ahead of the exciting night of boxing will be Prize-fighter winner Prince Arron, former Commonwealth champion Paul Truscott, former British title challenger Josh Wale and hot prospects, Kid Galahad and Joe Murray.
Matchroom Sport and Hennessy Sports will promote the 12 round European title fight which will be taking place the following night (Saturday 25th) at the Robin Park Arena, Wigan. The fight will also be shown live on Sky Sports HD1 from 9pm.
Tickets for Robin Park Arena, Wigan are ON SALE NOW and can be purchased from the Matchroom Sport Box Office on 01277 359900. Tickets are £30 for unreserved seats and £60 for Ringside.