Battle of the unbeaten – Arlain and Cooper put it all on the line on March 11
Two unbeaten lightweight prospects are prepared to put their winning records on the line on March 11th at the York Hall in London.
Southampton’s Jimmy Cooper (4-0-1) and Bethnal Green’s Jamie Arlain (5-0), both unbeaten in five, will clash on the Kevin Campion promoted show, titled ‘Knuckle 2 Knuckle’.
Fight fans will be in for a treat as these two hungry young lions go at it over six-rounds at 135lbs.
East-ender Arlain gets the home advantage being a resident of the E2 post code where the hallowed walls of the York Hall stand in Old Ford Road. All five of his fights in the paid ranks have taken place there.
The southpaw, trained by former British super-bantamweight champion Matt Marsh, recently moved up to 5-0 on December 3rd with a sensational second-round stoppage over rival Andrew Joicey (3-3) in a 10-round eliminator contest for the Southern Area lightweight title.
Hence, there’s more at stake for Arlain in this clash, as a loss will forfeit his mandatory position for Michael Devine’s Southern Area lightweight title that he won on the same show as Arlain on December 3rd and with the same result – a second round stoppage win over Ben Day.
The father of two commented on his forthcoming fight, “I’m looking forward to fighting someone like Cooper. It’s more about the reputation that he’s got and I’d rather get in the ring with him than a no one.
“It’s what I’m in boxing for, I want to get recognised more. Losing the mandatory position for the Southern Area, that’s one of the risks, but I’m going into the fight confident and I believe in myself.”
24-year-old Cooper is a lofty lightweight standing at 6ft tall, formerly trained by Peter Sims in Essex.
He enjoyed a stellar amateur career as an England international with notable scalps over 2015’s Best Young Boxer in Britain – Mitchell Smith. He also traded victories with Reece Bellotti, currently unbeaten in eight pro fights with seven KO’s.
His inauguration to the pro ranks in February 2015 ended in a stalemate with Jamie Quinn at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, which was his first fight in two years.
Cooper has boxing in his blood, being the nephew of former British light-middleweight champion Gary Cooper, and has plans to emulate his success.
Trained by Steve Tyrell in Portsmouth, unbeaten Cooper commented, “I can’t wait for this fight, it’s a massive fight to be taking so early in my career, I know that, but this is what I need.
“I’ve boxed all over the country for England as an amateur and we’re both unbeaten, somebody’s 0 has to go, which adds more fuel to the fire.
“I'm sure it will be a cracking fight!”
Knuckle 2 Knuckle
Topping the bill is the Southern Area light-heavyweight title clash between Jordan Joseph (6-0-1) and Chris Hobbs (5-1-1), an evenly-matched bout – each fighter with just a single loss in seven fights.
Exciting light-heavyweight prospect ‘Dazzling’ Darrel Church (3-1-1) gets his wish for a busy 2017 with his first fight back so soon after his previous win over Croatian Toni Bilic on December 3rd. The 175-pounder from Witham is looking to fight regularly to end the year with a British Challenge belt.
The Fight Cup winner Ryan Crawford (2-2-1) gets his sixth pro fight against Portsmouth’s Danny Couzens (8-10-2).
Ossie Jervier (3-2) is matched with hard-hitting Jose Lopes (7-0) in a 10-round cruiserweight contest.
Derby’s Arfan Iqbal (11-0); Aylesbury’s Adi Burden (2-0); Essex’s Adrian Martin (3-0); Mitcham’s Jumanne Canero; and Peterborough’s Sam Barron (4-0) all look to continue their respective unbeaten runs.