REVVING UP FOR OUR 202O FINALE
By Frank Warren
IT SEEMS THAT the cat – or rather the King, in this case – has been let out of the bag over our intention to add the heavyweight champion of the world to our December 5 card at the Royal Albert Hall, which will also serve to partly mark my 40 years as a licenced promoter.
We had already revealed that the huge light heavyweight collision between Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur is due to take place on our December date at the historic Kensington concert hall, but Tyson once again performing within these shores would represent a significant boost to the sporting landscape in this country.
He is undoubtedly the biggest star and biggest personality in the sport and with a successful London defence of his WBC world crown and Ring Magazine title under his belt we can then look forward to putting together an all-British mega-clash against Anthony Joshua and start painting a more optimistic sporting picture for 2021.
It would be particularly fitting to have Tyson grace the Royal Albert Hall stage because the first world heavyweight champion to fight at the venue was Tommy Burns, 100 years ago this year. Slightly before my time, I must stress.
It will represent another first for Tyson too, fighting on boxing’s grandest stage and joining the likes of Muhammad Ali (who fought twice in exhibition bouts), Henry Cooper and Lennox Lewis in doing so.
Full details on what will be a special night and our final show of 2020 will follow shortly.
WE ENJOYED A successful eighth post-lockdown promotion at the BT Studio on Saturday and our prospects and contenders continue to thrive in the live television spotlight.
The young man who got it all started for us back on July 10, lightweight Mark Chamberlain, opened the show for us again with another victory to take his record to 7-0. There was a real maturity and patience about Mark’s work against a very capable fighter in Shaun Cooper, who came in with a more than respectable 10-1 record.
Mark, a known banger, took his time and was prepared to do the rounds. His work to the body paid off a couple of times when Cooper was put to the floor and it was a credit to him that he was determined to see it through to the end.
Mark is a big talent who we have a lot of faith in and a promising 2021 lies in wait for him.
I was so pleased for Nathan Gorman, who has put himself right back in the heavyweight mix following his win over Richard Lartey. I know a good few people were tipping the upset, but Nathan quickly got to grips with what he was up against and worked hard for his win.
I know I always say a defeat is not the end of the line, but it must be hard to take when you consider the expectations placed upon the best young fighters, particularly heavyweights. Losing to his former amateur rival Daniel Dubois must have been a bitter pill for Nathan to swallow and he took time out to lick his wounds.
He has now got it all in front of him again and I expect him to be back challenging for titles before too long. He remains a quality heavyweight and, although I would like to see him trim up a bit, this is something he accepts himself and I am sure he will get back to his ideal fighting weight ahead of his next date.
The more I see of Willy Hutchinson, the more I am convinced this is a young man who can go all the way. He has clocked up two quick finishes now since we got him back fighting and, despite his tender years, I believe he is ready to be stepped up considerably now.
He is going to be some force at super middleweight and, to my mind, he is just a quality, quality fighter.
His teammate up in Sheffield, Liam Williams, is quickly proving himself to be one of the most destructive operators in world boxing. He is simply a wrecking ball at middleweight and what an inspired decision that switch from super welter proved to be at the end of 2018.
Okay, this was a mandatory defence of his British title and Andrew Robinson was always unlikely to upset the odds, but I would honestly put him in with any middleweight and expect him to come out on top. What he has got on the horizon now is a mandatory shot at the world title held by Demetrius Andrade. I have spoken to the WBO to get the ball rolling and the negotiation period is underway.
This is a massive fight to look forward to in the first part of next year, a time when we will also have Jack Catterall ready and waiting for his shot at all the super lightweight belts, hopefully against Josh Taylor in a huge Scotland v England encounter.
Keep an eye on our social media channels in the coming days for news and details of our three shows to close out what has been an unusual but still productive year where we all stayed in there punching.
