Chris Eubank Jr vs Anatoli Muratov full event preview
Chris Eubank Jr (30-2, 22KOs) faces Anatoli Muratov (24-2-1, 17KOs) on October 2 at The SSE Arena, Wembley, in what will be BOXXER's first ever show in their brand-new partnership with Sky Sports.
BBN have previewed the entire event here:
Undercard from 5pm
Mikael Lawal vs Benoit Huber
8×3 Cruiserweight title eliminator
Ultimate Boxxer 4 winner Mikaael Lawal (13-0, 7KOs) heads back to the ring for the first time in 11-months.
The unbeaten Lagos-born Londoner, was due for his toughest test to date against ex-WBO European light-heavyweight champion Steven Ward (13-1, 4KOs), who was most recently seen sharing the ring with the world's strongest man Thor Bjornsson in January this year, but the Belfast boxer withdrew through injury from the British eliminator contest.
Instead, reigning Swiss crusierweight champion Benoit Huber (7-1,5KOs) steps in last minute to fill the void. Managed by Philippe Abate, the man from Sion has stopped five from seven opponents, losing just once back in 2018. In his last fight, he won the Swiss cruiserweight title with a 10-round TKO over unbeaten southpaw Sid Dzemaili, who was 8-0 at the time.
Kicking off the show, the Shepherd's Bush man in the home corner is teak-tough having lived a hard life on the streets in Nigeria, being beaten by his father. He started boxing late, aged 17, but took to it quickly and his devastating KO against 9-0 Damian Chambers in the Ultimate Boxxer final in 2019 propelled him into the limelight overnight, and now he is just a whisker away from challenging British champion Chris Billam-Smith.
Linus Udofia vs Xhuljo Vrenozi
10×3 Middleweight contest
Former English middleweight champion Linus Udofia (16-0, 8KOs) faces Albanian-born Italian-based Xhuljo Vrenozi (17-3, 4KOs) over 10-rounds at middleweight.
The Nigerian-born Lutonian stepped up to win the English belt in 2019, then defended it just under one year later. Now, the 28-year-old has a decent test in front of him as he prepares to face British and Commonwealth champion Felix Cash (14-0, 10KOs) in his next fight between now and February next year.
He is part of a hot division domestically, with the likes of the headliner Eubank Jr ahead of him in the top 10, plus WBC Silver titlist Sam Eggington, undefeated Danny Dignum, world title contender Liam Williams, former British champ Denzel Bentley and now Brian Rose, who has come back to fight twice this year already.
The Albanian opponent from Piacenza has fought three times before in the UK, winning all three fights at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. The 29-year-old has been stopped twice before, in rounds two and three, but Udofia's knockouts usually come in the second half of his contests, so this fight should have a few rounds in it. Udofia should either win on points or score a stoppage from round five or six onwards.
Jamal Le Doux vs Germain Brown
10×3 English super-middleweight title eliminator
A regular sparring partner to former world champion George Groves, Londoner Germain Brown (9-0, 3KOs) will face reigning Midlands Area titlist Jamal Le Doux over 10-rounds at super-middleweight.
'Lethal' Le Doux hasn't lost a round since his sloppy defeat to journeyman Adam Jones (8-35-6, 2KOs), which he lost by a single point (57-58) in 2018. He bounced back with two shutout points wins followed by three KOs in a row.
This will be the Midlands champion's first fight back in over two years, whereas 27-year-old Brown has competed twice since, winning the Southern Area super-middleweight championship, followed by a fine win over former interim world champion Dmitrii Chudinov (21-7-3, 13KOs), who UK fight fans will remember also losing to Eubank Jr. a while back.
It's a clash of champions between two Area titlists, closely matched on paper, both with nine bouts each as experience, but only one will earn the right to go on to challenge English champ Charlie Schofield (17-1, 1KO) next.
Live on Sky Sports from 7:30pm
Richard Riakporhe vs Krzysztof Twardowski
10×3 Cruiserweight contest
It's the return of Richard Riakporhe (11-0, 8KOs), a former British cruiserweight champion who is the only man to inflict a defeat on the current British champion.
The Londoner meets Polishman Krzysztof Twardowski (9-2, 6KOs), who has put together a run of four victories on the bounce (three of those being knockouts) since his last defeat to WBC Youth World cruiserweight champion Juergen Uldedaj (14-0, 5KOs) in 2019.
In Riakporhe's last four fights, he has beaten all of the best 200-pounders in Britain, starting with Sam Hyde (TKO8); then ex-European champ Tommy McCarthy (TKO4); reigning British beltholder Chris Billam-Smith; and the new IBF European champion Jack Massey. Between them, they were 51-1-1 when Riakporhe beat them all.
'Twardy' has never been knocked out over 11 bouts and 43 rounds, but he has never met anyone quite as good as Riakporhe, who boasts a 73% KO ratio, so it's hard to see the Central European making it through to the second half of this contest.
David Avanesyan vs Liam Taylor
12×3 European welterweight title
European welterweight king David Avanesyan (27-3-1, 15KOs) defends his belt for the fourth time to newest challenger Liam Taylor (23-1-1, 11KOs).
'Dynamo' Taylor, 30 from Middleton, hasn't lost in over six years now and avenged that sole career reverse to Tyrone Nurse in 2018. He then drew on a technical decision with Chris Jenkins during their British and Commonwealth welterweight title contest due to an accidental head clash that forced the champion to retire after round four. A win over unbeaten Darren Tetley, which included two knockdowns, in 2019, then a first-round KO against Tommy Broadbent in July this year led him to this title shot here.
Trained by Carl Greaves, 33-year-old Russian 'Ava' is a former world champion, who beat Sugar Shane Mosley to land the WBA welterweight crown in 2016. He has enjoyed five fine victories in a row since his last defeat. He won the blue belt against fearsome Spaniard Kerman Lejarraga, who was 27-0 at the time, with a ninth-round knockout, then he defended it via first-round KO in the rematch. A successul defence against two-time Sanish welterweight champion Jose del Rio was followed by a fine win over Olympian Josh Kelly in February this year, to set up him up for a fourth defence of his European strap.
Ranked at WBC #7, WBA #9, IBF #12, WBO #6, IBO #3, Avanesyan will be looking for a convincing win to challenge any one of three reigning world champions – Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr. or Yordenis Ugas.
Ebonie Jones vs Vaida Masiokaite
6×2 Featherweight contest
Highly-rated bantamweight Ebonie Jones only joined promotional stable BOXXER in September and already makes her pro bow the following month in October.
The Portsmouth puncher was due to face 'Lady Luck' Bec Connolly (3-10) over four-rounds at bantamweight, but now she's matched with Lithuanian Vaida Masiokaite (2-10-4, 1KO) over six rounds at featherweight. The 33-year-old European has ought many Brits beore, including the aforementioned Bec Connolly, as well as WBC World super-lightweight champion Chantelle Cameron. She lost those fights, but she had drawn with Kent's Anelle Massey, Hull's Chelsey Arnell – both on their pro debuts – and Midlander Kirstie Bavington, so she is a potential banana skin for fledgling pros.
Ex-army Ebonie won multiple national amateur titles, as well as experiencing European under-22 glory, and hung up her vest after 60 wins from 65. It was suffering heartbreak at not being chosen for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that promoted the Drayton-based fighter to turn pro, despite initially walking away from boxing completely at first.
One training session at Guildford City Boxing Club with trainer John Edwards prompted her return and now she has world titles in her sights.
Main Event from 9:30pm
Chris Eubank Jr. vs Anatoli Muratov
12×3 Middleweight contest
Chris Eubank Jr. has making headlines since his debut back in 2011. He challenged for the British, Commonwealth and European middleweight titles in 2014 in his 19th fight but was outclassed by bitter rival Billy Joe Saunders, despite a brave effort down the stretch. He then bounced back with eight straight wins, collecting the WBA interim world title and the full IBO World super-middleweight belt too. He also won the British belt during that time with that infamous win over Nick Blackwell, which saw the beaten boxer rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma, which he thankfully recovered from.
His second defeat came in the WBSS semi-final at the hands of WBA 'Super' World middleweight titlist George Groves, but he quickly bounced back to regain his IBO World super-middleweight strap by flooring James DeGale twice in a UD win in 2019. He then regained his WBA interim middleweight honours at the end of that year, but didn't fight again until this May because of COVID. He defeated top talent Marcus Morrison over 10-rounds five months ago and now heads into his 33rd bout with stand-in opponent Anatoli Muratov in his first fight of his new partnership with Wasserman Boxing.
His German-based Kazahk-born opponent was on standby preparing for his own bout on October 9 when he got the call to step in and replace Sven Elbir, who tested positive for COVID. The WBA world-ranked number 7 now has a golden opportunity to force his way into World Title contention.
Muratov is a former WBA Intercontinental Middleweight Champion and German Super Middleweight Champion, undefeated in his last 17 contests and boasts an impressive KO record with over 60% of his wins coming inside the distance.
Trained by Roy Jones Jr, Eubank Jr. has promised fans a knockout in this contest.
Floats
Joe Pigford vs Isaac Aryee
8×3 Super-welterweight contest
Southampton's undefeated super-welterweight Joe Pigford (17-0, 16KOs) has amassed a fearsome record with a 100% win rate and 94% KO ratio.
The six-footer, trained by Kev Thorniley in Poole, was please to break a two-year hiatus in June with a second-round knockout over Bosnian Jovica Jovanovic (1-28, 1KOs) in Luxembourg.
Having first debuted way back in 2012, Pigford's career has stalled of late, not only because of COVID, but he also only managed to ight once in 2018 and twice in 2019.
Now that 'The Pig' has been let off the leash finally, after 736-day wait, he plans to stay active following what he describes himself as a stop-start career. His best win to date was a fifth-round stoppage of 12-0 Londoner Aaron Morgan in 2017, live on BT Sport, but instead of it setting him for bigger fights, he didn't fight again for 19-months, and even then it was another journeyman in front of him.
Having previously trained in Manchester with Ricky Hatton, when signed to Frank Warren, the father made the move back down south to be at home with his young daughter.
None of his last four opponents have made it past the third round, so expect fireworks from 'the big-hitter in his Sky Sports debut against former Ghanaian welterweight champion Isaac Aryee (26-9, 24KOs). The 28-year-old from Accra has 24 KOs from 26 victories, which equates to a 92% KO ratio, which means he is a live, dangerous opponent, but also one that will open up and come forward, which will be a delight for 'The Pig'.
Razor Ali vs Stefan Nicolae
6×3 Super-bantamweight contest
Real name Alireza Ghadiri (3-0), from Maida Vale in London, faces Romanian Stefan Nicolae (3-26-2, 1KO) in his first fight this year. The Iranian-born featherweight, who has had to overcome adversity and homelessness to become one of the most sought after young talents in the sport after arriving in the UK as a political refugee, signed with Wasserman Boxing in June this year.
In his own words, "When I came to the UK, I had no money – I was literally penniless, couldn’t speak any English and was sleeping on the streets. I’ve worked every day for the last 5 years, no days off, to get into this position."
31-bouter Nicolae has fought four times already this year and scored a draw in his last fight. He also took English bantamweight champion Liam Davies the distance, so will be a decent opponent for Ali to make his Sky Sports debut against.
Harvey Horn vs Adam Yayaha
6×3 Flyweight contest
Londoner Harvey Horn (8-0, 2KOs) is the reigning WBO European flyweight champion who stepped up in last contest to defeat Ijaz Ahmed for the title, but hasn't fought since, which is almost two years on.
In his ninth bout, he gets another tough test against Tanzanian Adam Yahaya (21-6-2, 10KOs). The 29-year-old southpaw has won his last two fights by early knockouts. He lost two fights to Brits, back to back, in 2018, including a 10-round points reverse to now-British flyweight champion Tommy Frank, then a second-round TKO loss to Welshman Andrew Selby.
It's very likely that Horn has selected this opponent specifically to be able to make a statement to force a fight with Frank for his shiny new Lonsdale belt.
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