TITLES GALORE ACROSS THREE NEW SHOWS

THE FRANK WARREN COLUMN
By Frank Warren

DANIEL DUBOIS RETURNS to where we firmly anticipate will become his second home when he fights for an incredible seventh title in just 13 professional fights at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday September 27.

We have spent much of this week so far publicly laying out our plans for September and the first part of October and the feedback we have received on so many of the fights has been overwhelmingly positive.

There are some real crackers in there.

It was back to the BT Tower on Monday to announce Daniel’s Commonwealth title clash against Ebenezer Tetteh – another tough nut from Accra – and if he is anything like his last Ghanaian opponent then we are in for some fun and games at, what I truly believe, is the best venue for boxing in the Capital and beyond.

Tetteh isn’t a household name but he should in no way be underestimated. He has clocked up 16 KOs from his 19 unbeaten fights, so the warning signs are there for Daniel. Facing fighters who have yet to taste defeat brings its own challenges while also spicing up the occasion and Daniel, as he always is, will have to be on his game.

We need to keep testing him and there is no point in feeding him cannon fodder because we already know how good he is and the potential he’s got in him. If he maintains his current progress then it is only a matter of time before he will find himself in the mandatory position for one of the world title belts.

In the meantime, get behind him and enjoy what has been and will continue to be an explosive journey.

World title action will also feature at the Albert Hall and Nicola Adams will add to her history-making exploits by being the first female to fight for world honours at the South Kensington venue.

If all goes to plan – not always a frequent occurrence in boxing, I know – our new WBO world flyweight champion will bid to unify against the IBF ruler Leonela Paola Yudica from Argentina or her forthcoming opponent, the Mexican Isabel Millan, who Nicola fought last October.

Of course, the winner will have to emerge unscathed for this to come to fruition, but should this not be the case then a straight defence of Nicola’s WBO belt would come into play.

If you have yet to take in a night of boxing at the Royal Albert Hall then I urge you to sample the experience because there is no better place and you will not be disappointed.

Before we land in swanky South Ken on September 27, we have booked in a show in the more gritty surrounds of Bethnal Green on September 14 with a card that is as strong as I can recall ever staging at York Hall.

Three title showdowns and a final eliminator for a British title headlines the bill and all of them are what you would describe as proper fights.

Sunny Edwards is dropping down to flyweight to fight for the IBF International title against the Mexican Hugo Rosendo Guarneros. Sunny is obviously a little bit frustrated that no domestic opponents seem to want to step into the ring with him but, believe me, his world title aspirations are better served fighting these quality Mexicans who provide much sterner opposition than anyone would on the home front.

I have been hugely impressed with our recent signing, young Brad Foster, since he teamed up with us and he is in a great fight with another of our fighters in Lucien Reid defending his British and Commonwealth super bantamweight titles.

This really should be some fight between two ambitious and unbeaten operators.

We also have Dec Spelman defending his English light heavyweight title against the unbeaten Ultimate Boxxer winner Shakan Pitters and then there is a fight that has set a lot of people talking.

Zak Chelli vs Kody Davies has got thriller written all over it. It is a final eliminator for the British light heavyweight title but it is a fight probably deserving of far grander billing.

These two won’t care though because they just want to fight and the tougher the fight, the better, as far as they are concerned. It is a tremendous and refreshing attitude from both and the fans at York Hall and those watching on BT Sport are in for a treat.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it ends up being fight of the year.

Fans will soon notice that the staging of top quality smaller hall shows will become a more frequent event. BT Sport are genuinely backing our young fighters and we all intend to showcase their talents and keep them fighting on a regular basis outside of our current output.

We have a host of top young fighters of huge promise on our books and they are deserving of such a stage as they progress their careers towards title contention.

So there is plenty to look forward to in the months and years ahead.

On Wednesday we announced another show that is set to take place at the FD Arena in Leeds on October 12. Being in Leeds it will naturally be topped by the local hero Josh Warrington making a third defence of his IBF world featherweight title against the experienced and highly-ranked Frenchman Sofiane Takoucht.

This show also includes another four major title fights!

It is well documented that Josh is eager to put his title on the line in a unification match and I am certain he will get the opportunity. The thing with unifications is that two champions have to be onboard with the concept and the other three currently have no desire to fight Josh.

The featherweight landscape is shifting though – with Oscar Valdez having already vacated – and I wouldn’t be surprised if we have more than one new champion in place before the end of the year.

This will open up doors for Josh and he will get the fights he wants. In the meantime, it is vital that he maintains his momentum and is not left languishing waiting for fights that might not happen.

The Leeds card is going to be another thriller, with Zelfa Barrett defending his Commonwealth title against Jordan McCorry – who always brings a top fight – along with Zelfa’s friend and training partner Lyndon Arthur also fighting for the Commonwealth light heavyweight title against the big-hitting Ghanian Emmanuel Anim.

Lyndon will be looking to show that he firmly belongs in the current light heavyweight mix that is sure to deliver some explosive matches in the not too distant future.

Leeds will also witness local lad Jack Bateson fighting for his first title – the English championship – when he challenges the experienced Michael Ramabeletsa for his belt, with Troy Williamson also on the title hunt in a bid to win the vacant WBO Intercontinental super-welterweight strap.

Before we start further contemplating any of these title-laden shows there is a big trip to Russia to consider.

Anthony Yarde met with the media on Tuesday at the Peacock Gym ahead of his August 24 collision with the WBO world light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in Chelyabinsk.

We will dissect this fascinating fight in detail over the next couple of weeks but what I will say now is that Anthony appears ready right now and extremely confident of accomplishing his mission against a man who has been and still is a great champion.

The good news for the fans is that there will be no need to burn the midnight oil or keep refilling the coffee pot because this Box Office quality fight is live at prime time on a Saturday night for BT Sport subscribers.

I cannot wait for this one.