Eddie Hearn and his Matchroom Boxing promotion have put together a major show for month end, as the nine-fight card is headlined by three world title fights with three regional title fights in support. The event will air on SKY Box Office in England.
IBF World Featherweight Title
Evgeny Gradovich +260
Lee Selby -320
Note: Gradovich (19-0-1) is the title holder but he is coming in as an underdog for this fight. Selby is 20-1, but the loss came in May of 2009, meaning he has not lost in six years, winning 16 in a row. Selby has held Britsih, European and other regional titles, and this is his first shot at a world title.
IBF World Welterweight Title
Frankie Gavin +700
Kell Brook -1300
Note: Brook is making his second title defense since capturing the belt from Shawn Porter in impressive fashion last August. Gavin, a British fighter with a lot of fights for Commonwealth and British belts, but last August he was beaten by Leonard Bundu going for a European title. Three straight wins since then earned him a world title shot, but this is a showcase for Brook.
WBC World Lightweight Title
Jorge Linares -115
Kevin Mitchell -115
Note: Venezuelan veteran Jorge Linares (38-3) defends the WBC belt for the first time since capturing the belt with a win this past December against Javier Prieto. Linares has held world belts in three different weight classes. This is Mitchell’s second attempt at a world belt, as back in May of 2010 he lost to Michael Katsidis in a fight for an interim WBO belt.
Heavyweight
Kevin Johnson +3000
Anthony Joshua -7500
Note: Johnson is a veteran who has been in there with top shelf names like Tyson Fury and Vitali Klitschko and has never been knocked out. He is here to give Joshua rounds, and the open question is does Joshua get into his first long fight, or does he turn the trick and become the first to stop Johnson?
British Lightweight Title
Craig Evans +260
Scott Cardle -380
Note: A battle of two undefeated fighters as Cardle is (17-0) and Evans comes in at (14-0).
Commonwealth Super Lightweight Title
John Wayne Hibbert -120
Dave Ryan -120
Note: The popular Hibbert has put together a five-fight winning streak since his last loss in March of 2013. That loss was to veteran Dave Ryan, who has given him a re-match here.
British Middleweight Title
Nick Blackwell +130
John Ryder -160
Note: Blackwell (15-3) is an experienced fighter who has faced some of England’s top middleweight, including Martin Murray, Billy Joe Saunders, but Ryder (20-1) has been building momentum, winning five fights in a row since experiencing his only setback, and in his last outing, he defeated the experienced Billi Facundo Godoy (31-3) to win the WBO Inter-Continental belt.
