Top prospect, Tommy Langford (15-0) hopes that victory over top-10 ranked English middleweight champion, Lewis Taylor (18-1-1) will further propel him up the rankings to be in with a shot at world title honours towards the end of 2016. The Birmingham-based boxer, signed to Frank Warren, will put his unbeaten record on the line when he battles Dronfield’s Taylor for the vacant Commonwealth middleweight title at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on February 13th on the undercard of Terry Flanagan v Derry Mathews WBO World lightweight title showdown. Langford has enjoyed a meteoric rise to reach the fourth spot in the British rankings and an impressive sixth positioning in the WBO world standings. The 26-year-old university graduate, soon to be a father for the first time, has his feet firmly on the ground despite such promotion during an explosive 2015 that saw the 160-pounder halt three of his four opponents, lifting his first professional title – the WBO Inter-Continental middleweight strap – and defending it twice. Most impressive of all is that the six-foot-tall Langford, originally from North Devon, is yet to concede a single round to an opponent. “Last year was fantastic for me so obviously the momentum to my career is flying right now,” he said. “Finally my performances are getting me credit and people are mentioning me in the same sentence as Billy Joe Saunders so this is just another step in the right direction. “I’m not looking past Taylor at all, but I want to go out and do a really good job on him and make a statement, then I can push on for bigger titles.” The Bideford-born boxer continued to express his ambitions, “I don’t really want to stay at domestic level long. I want to push on to European and world level. Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll still be undefeated and looking at potential world titles.” The middleweight prospect added to his unbeaten professional record just days before Christmas when he stopped Robert Swierzbinski (15-5) in five rounds on the undercard of Andy Lee’s failed first defence of his WBO World middleweight title against Billy Joe Saunders, and achieved the goal that he set himself pre-fight of beating the Polish national champion in a quicker time than Chris Eubank Jr. managed back in May 2014 when he finished the same foe in round seven. The Commonwealth title up for grabs was most recently held by Billy Joe Saunders (23-0) who defended it six times after winning the vacant prize against Tony Hill (13-3-1) with a first round stoppage back in 2012. The southpaw from Hatfield then went on to win British and European honours before dethroning Irishman Andy Lee (34-3-1) on December 19th in Manchester after he floored the reigning champion twice on the way to a points win last year and at this stage in his career, Langford fully admits he needs a few profile-building wins before he can challenge his fellow Brit. “Like any professional who is in the sport to be the best, if the offer comes along then I’d take it at a drop of a hat,” he enthused. “But in reality, I’m a few fights off it because I need to establish myself as a viable contender. “I would say three more fights against good opposition, domestic and international, and I’ll be more than ready.” The former England captain who holds victories in the amateurs over Commonwealth Games medal-winners Callum Smith and Anthony Fowler, is part of a thriving domestic division that also includes British champion Nicky Blackwell (19-3-1), WBA interim champ Chris Eubank Jr. (21-1), and two-time British title challenger John Ryder (21-2). Langford has enjoyed top sparring with Eubank Jr. in his Brighton gym, as well regularly visiting Gallagher’s Gym in Bolton to mix it with British super-middleweight champion Callum Smith (18-0) and older brother WBO World super-welterweight titleholder Liam Smith (22-0-1). Trained by Tom Chaney, famed for guiding former teammate Frankie Gavin (22-2) to World amateur championship glory, Langford originally chose the West Midlands to further his boxing career after being so impressed with Gavin in an England training camp. The pair enjoyed many years of sparring together as they both made the transition from amateur to pro under the guidance of Chaney in his Hall Green Gym in Birmingham. For this forthcoming challenge, Langford has struggled to secure top quality sparring but fortunately, British and Commonwealth super-welterweight champion, Liam Williams (13-0-1) has come to the rescue. The fast-emerging, 23-year-old Welshman is also on the BoxNation TV televised Liverpool card to defend both his crowns against Navid Mansouri (15-1-2). The unbeaten Brummie explained, “It has been trickier getting sparring because it is one of the first fights of 2016 and a lot of boxers in aren’t in the gym staying fit. “Liam is on the show, and we have sparred in the past so hopefully there will be sparring with him.” The West Brom fan known as the ‘Baggies Bomber’ has had a trio of foreign imports for his last three fights so Taylor will present a new challenge in February for their domestic dust-up. The Queensberry Promotions star commented, “There’s a bit of extra spice added being two good British boxers ranked in the top 10 so there’s a lot at stake for us both.” Lewis Taylor is the present English middleweight title-holder, 25-years-old from Derbyshire, but will vacate the title to challenge for the Commonwealth honours. Taylor, was last out on November 21st when he defended his English championship for the first time, halting Jez Wilson (12-3-1) in five rounds at Rotherham’s Magna Centre. The Derbyshire fighter’s only defeat to date came against Ireland’s Eamonn O’Kane (14-2-1) when losing out on a majority decision for the Northern Irishman’s IBF Inter-Continental middleweight strap back in May this year. Although Langford and Taylor have 33 wins between them they have only scored a combined total of eight victories inside the distance. Taylor’s last four wins have all come via the fifth round and Langford has stopped three of his last four opponents when stepping up to 10-rounders for the first time. The February date will provide Langford with his first 12-round contest of his career. Both fighters’ records suggest that there is strong, accumulative power in their punches, as well as the ability to finish the fight when the instinct is there. Langford agreed, “Lewis’s record suggests he doesn’t punch but my record doesn’t suggest I am a banger either so I can’t read too much into that. “He has a tight guard, a decent jab and does everything quite well, but I believe I’m better in every department and got more than enough to deal with him, but it’s a 50-50 fight on paper so it’s definitely one for the fans to get excited about. “He’s had to give up the English title to fight me so he really fancies it and will be bringing his A game.” He concluded, “It’s a good way to kick off the year so I’m happy, and this fight is first and foremost for me. “My baby is due in April so I’ll expect to have a bit of a rest in that period to settle in and hopefully get out again start of summer around June-July time.”
‘A Tale of Two Cities’
The bumper show titled ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ sees Manchester’s ‘Turbo Terry’ (29-0) defend his WBO World lightweight title for the second time against latest challenger, Liverpool’s ‘Dirty Derry’ (38-9-2). Heading up the title fights on the undercard is on-form Ellesmere Port ace, Paul Butler (20-1) who makes the first defence of his WBO European super-flyweight title that he won with a stunning sixth round stoppage of Silvio Olteanu (15-9-1) in December. Thunderous-punching Welshman Liam Williams (13-0-1), 23-years-old, is back in action after his two-round demolition of Kris Carslaw (22-5), who had never been stopped in his eight-year career, to defend both his British and Commonwealth super-welterweight titles against Rotherham’s Nav Mansouri (15-1-2). Liverpool’s all-action Tom Stalker (10-1-3) aims to make it third time lucky when he challenges for the vacant WBO European lightweight title after drawing twice against Welsh rival Craig Evans (14-1-2). Hard-hitting Blackpool star Matty Askin (19-3-1), 27-years-old, defends his English cruiserweight title against Swindon’s Lawrence Bennett (7-1-1) in a rematch following the controversial first-round ending of their first fight last October that saw Askin pushed through the ropes and stretchered out of the arena. Indian megastar Vijender Singh (3-0) makes his Liverpool debut and begins his 2016 campaign that could see the national icon return to his homeland later in the year to challenge for his first title. Fast-rising Liverpool super-lightweight Stephen Lewis (10-0), 23-years-old, steps up to feature in his first 10-round contest against Scottish-based Polish boxer, Marek Lasowski (7-4-1), off the back of a three-fight KO run. Heavy-handed European bantamweight champion Ryan Farrag (14-1), 27-years-old, has his first fight since his stunning upset in Belgium in October to beat Stephane Jamoye (28-7) with a ninth round stoppage to claim the title. Unbeaten flyweight ace, Kevin Satchell (14-0) looks to extend his winning record on the show. Concluding the line-up, Leicester’s super-featherweight dynamo Leon Woodstock (5-0), 22-years-old, looks to continue his rapid rise through the domestic ranks. For tickets to the show please visit: http://www.tommylangford.co.uk/ To follow Tommy Langford on Twitter click here @Tommy_Langford1 Tommy Langford would like to thank his sponsors MAN Commercial Protection and JS Wright & Co Ltd and Strategy Plus Web Design and Action Graphics and Atlas Pain Relief and Fighting Fit City Gym and Ringside UK and PR Manager Tim Ricksonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSSezpjooL8