"We can't afford weak fights anymore." That was the credible claim from Eddie Hearn last year who explained that the boxing fraternity would not settle for poorly matched contests. He stipulated clearly and unequivocally, that his charges would have to step up and face stiff opposition when the call came. It was a statement that was welcomed by boxing fans, yet treated with a significant spoonful of scepticism. Some suggesting it could serve as a mere marketing ploy to stave off a disapproving verdict on forthcoming announcements, or an attempt to mask poor matchups by reiterating their promise of solid, worthy fights.
As the only certainty was uncertainty during much of last year, Hearn and The Matchroom PR machine were left to pedal a plethora of promotional material, featuring aerial shots of the Hearn mansion at Matchroom HQ, tempting and teasing fans with mock-up pictures of how Fight Camp would look. They were beaten to the punch by Frank Warren who put the first UK event in July of last year.
That said, some of the nights that we were subsequently treated to in 'The Garden' were very entertaining and the open-air backdrop and the rippling Matchroom flags were a welcome escape from the dreary, politically charged landscape that greyed most of our own lives at the time.
Terri Harper vs Natasha Jonas, Sam Eggington vs Ted Cheeseman and Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin will certainly live long in the memory, so should last year's events be considered a success? well, that depends on context, especially given that the Whyte fight was PPV. Most of Matchroom's cards last year had a strong headline fight, but the undercard was called into question a few times. Not because of the level of operator necessarily, but more that with only 5 or 6 fights featured on the majority of the cards, they were not as evenly matched as one may have hoped. It should be clarified that Matchroom were not the only ones who faced scrutiny, some of the Warren undercards were abysmal, some of the main events were not great either! and Top Rank-despite breaking cover early and being applauded for getting shows made-did not have the depth to be able to call them good value.
It seemed at the time though, fans were just happy that boxing was able to go ahead and their acceptance was consequential of the thirst for action.
So, fast forward through a tumultuous period of time in this country that most of us are desperate to forget and here we are, in a similar situation (as far as sport goes), boxing has been suspended during January to enable the medical profession to commit themselves to the more pressing matter of a Global Pandemic, but with green shoots of recovery on the horizon, the sport can once again look to clear its head after a pummelling left it reeling on the ropes with a standing 8 count in the first month of the year.
What do we deduce from the announced cards?
February 13th:
Four fight nights have been announced by Matchroom starting on February 13th with the headline act an overdue outing for Josh Warrington who, instead of the bout many had anticipated against Can Xu, or even a rematch with Kid Galahad, will face little known Mauricio Lara. Probably should not be too surprised that Warrington is not jumping straight in with a unification after over a year out with his last performance a brief two round demolition of Sofiane Takoucht. That did not stop humorous detractors on Twitter pleading for it to be namesakes Erislandy or even Brian. An interesting development saw Mauricio Lara elevated to number #10 in the IBF rankings following the announcement after initially not appearing to be anywhere in the top 15. A little suspicious you might say. Fans will not be too perturbed by this fight being made as long as it leads immediately to a big fight or unification for Warrington.
So, if you are not blown away with the main event, what of the undercard? Zelfa Barrett will face the well-known Kiko Martinez and whereas it could plausibly be explained as a step up (and I fully expect the spin king Hearn to tell us that) Martinez-now 34-has a record splattered with defeats to UK fighters including Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg and Josh Warrington and a recent knockout against Gary Russell Jr where his only real tactic was to plough forward and get tattooed with right hands. So, if Barrett has aspirations of dining at the top table, he should deal with Martinez and look relatively good doing so.
Most UK fans would have preferred to have seen the BBBofC ordered fight of Zelfa Barrett vs Archie Sharp, but it is widely recognised and acknowledged that these fights that are 'ordered' seldom materialise. Why are they billed as a fight that is 'ordered' without any consequence for not fulfilling? It is a debate that will forever rage, and promoters will always remove a fighter to face someone else, or even pay an opposing fighter to relinquish the position to fight somebody else in order to preserve a prospect's promise.
Completing the February 13th line-up is Leigh Wood, who suffered a bump in the road against the impressive Jazza Dickens last year against the unbeaten but largely untested Reece Mould for the British Featherweight title. This fight appears more closely matched than the other fights on the card and could be a good watch at domestic level. Also on the card is Dalton Smith-who had two very tidy performances last year-against Lee Appleyard and the remaining fights host Shannon Courtenay who will be aiming for another confidence boosting win before her rematch with Rachel Ball and Ivan Price, both against currently unnamed opponents.
If you had to provide a word to best summarise this card it would be predictable. Unless there are major upsets, then the winners should be a matter of formality. The early betting markets are normally indicative, and they corroborate this notion with Warrington 1/14 and Zelfa Barrett as short as 1/10.
February 20th:
A card that has a bit more bite. Plenty of animosity and potential in terms of competitive bouts. The long-awaited fight between David Avanesyan and Josh Kelly is one that has whetted the appetite ever since it was made and has maintained its appeal despite being rescheduled a number of times. Both have had plenty to say in the build-up, both have undoubted ability. Kelly has speed, style and a flashy style. Avanesyan is gritty, determined and has power. With Avanesyan's promoter Neil Marsh ranting about Adam Booth being a 'conman' during a heated press conference last year, we can surely expect as many twists and turns in the lead up to the fight as we can the bout itself. The bookies are struggling to split them too, with an appealing 18/1 for the draw.
A clash that has also gathered a bit of momentum is Joseph Laws conqueror Ryan Charlton against the well supported Albanian Florian Marku, who was a little disappointing last time out and unfortunately had to settle for a draw against underdog Jamie Stewart. Marku is in danger of being a little overhyped as a consequence of his exploits out of the ring and on social media. He has often looked a little bit rugged and raw in terms of his ability in it, but it could be an exhilarating bout nonetheless, with Charlton's punch power and Marku's come forward style. Elsewhere, Amy Timlin and Carly Skelly will lock horns again for the super bantamweight Commonwealth title after a tight affair last October, and an outing for Anthony Fowler and debutant Johnny Fisher complete the card as it stands.
Again, not the most enticing card from top to bottom but the promise (poor use of vocabulary given that it has been postponed twice) of Avanesyan vs Kelley will conceal any murmurs of discontent from disgruntled fans.
March 6th:
This card sees the much-anticipated return leg between Whyte and Povetkin. Credit Whyte for getting back in with the Russian after such a devastating knockout loss. Whyte appeared to be overwhelming Povetkin last time out before that monstrous uppercut rendered him unconscious (or ready to continue after an 8-count depending on how you saw it). Expect there to be fireworks again and not just from the Matchroom pyrotechnics.
Another fighter who featured on last year's Fight Camp, Ted Cheeseman fights again, this time against British title challenger James Metcalf in a fight which could divide opinion. Cheeseman is a fan friendly fighter and has faced a number of capable domestic fighters with relative success. He drew with Kieron Conway before running Scott Fitzgerald very close and last summer won an explosive encounter with Sam Eggington, trading heavy blows in the final stages and coming away with a unanimous points victory. James Metcalf is unbeaten and has 21 wins but this fight against an intense fighter like Cheeseman, will really test his credentials. The betting is very close for this one too, with Metcalf slightly the favourite at around 4/6 with most bookmakers.
Heavyweight contender Fabio Wardley faces former title challenger Eric Molina, who will surely only serve to accentuate and glamourise the steps made in the development of Wardley. The now familiar face of away fighter Kane Baker (fighting unbeaten super featherweight Youssef Khoumari) and debutant and son of Ricky, Campbell Hatton complete the card as it is currently.
Once again, the card relies heavily on the main event with the possibility of a cracker between Cheeseman and Metcalf. Everything else on there is just trading off name and name alone.
March 20th:
An exciting concoction of titles on the line, genuine knockout power, and some exquisite skills to look forward to within this card. The main event sees Lawrence Okolie get the chance to showcase his ever-increasing reputation under Shane McGuigan and capture the WBO world cruiserweight title in the process. He faces Krzysztof Glowacki with undercard support from his stablemate Chris Billam-Smith who is scheduled to meet Deion Jumah in a hotly anticipated bout at the same weight.
Okolie has endured plenty of disparaging comments about his style of fighting, occasionally in the past, it has to be said, his frame and at times awkward approach to other fighters have not made for clean displays, but his last fight-dispatching unbeaten Jezewski in devastating fashion-showed exactly what he can do with those attributes, attributes that may well see him move up to heavyweight.
In the case of Billam-Smith, he is learning when to box and when to trade. He knows he is guilty of sometimes wanting to engage with fighters, but it stems from the confidence he has when planting his feet. He did just that against Nathan Thorley after he took a heavy shot or two himself. The only blemish on his record is a very closely fought contest split decision loss against another British cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe.
Deion Jumah is no slouch though, and with very good wins against Sam Hyde-which was a real war-and Wadi Camacho, Billam-Smith will have to be mindful of the danger he presents.
Chantelle Cameron defends her WBC super lightweight title against Melissa Hernandez and will be hoping to once again win convincingly and raise the possibility of a monstrous collision with the imperious Katie Taylor. It could be another notable victory for women's boxing which has gone from strength to strength in the past 12 months. That is something that Matchroom can be immensely proud to have played a part in, the rapid ascent in the exposure and success of female boxing.
In spite of two fighters having that familiar opponent 'TBA' one of those fighters who will have plenty of fans tuning in to see their progression is Joe Cordina. The skilful Welsh talent is 29 and needs to have more fights and will be keen to make up for lost time after long periods of frustration.
Solomon Dacres fights an opponent yet to be announced and Ramla Ali fights Vanesa Cabellero.
This card, for me is the one with the potential to really excite. The top three fights at the high end of the event are all closely matched fights with cases for every single pugilist to come out victorious. A very decent card, with one or two additions, it would represent an excellent night of boxing.
April 10th:
This is an interesting card that could prove divisive. Some fans will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of seeing Conor Benn, who had that polished and disciplined display against Formella, Savannah Marshall who looks to follow that clinical display against Rankin with another win, two Cash/Kash bonuses with Felix Cash and Kash Farooq on the bill and also another chance to see Shannon Courtenay try to exact revenge on Rachel Ball.
But with all of those top British fighters, aside from the Ball Courtenay fight, we only know the opponent of Benn who will take another big step up when he fights Samuel Vargas.
Unless we are furnished with some very reputable opponents in the interim, this card will become a formality for some of the top British fighters and therefor appear a little less appealing in terms of value.
This card has one full world champion in Savannah who could become one of the biggest draws in women's boxing as she looks to unify and become a multi-weight world champion. It also has prospective world champion talents in Benn, Farooq, Ball, Courtenay, and Cash. But 'it takes two to tango' is a well coined boxing phrase and you sometimes need a foe to make a fight. This card still needs a little imagination if it is to have that fascinating allure of an exciting event.
Overall, you could argue that we are guilty of biting the hand that feeds us. We should maybe be thankful that we are still seeing boxing events, but there will be questions surrounding the reappearance of a lot of the same faces from last year and some missing Matchroom fighters, whose careers seem to have spluttered and stalled. Fighters like Callum Johnson and Liam Smith have lost a bit of impetus through inactivity and through no real fault of their own. There are other examples of fighters that have not got a date and so the question is, are the same names being used because of financial ramifications, or is it more complexed? Either way, I am sure we will not be starved of drama and excitement in some capacity over the coming months.
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