JE Boxing is the only professional boxing platform in Kent, owned by Joe ‘The Moroccan Machine’ Elfidh.
As a fighter, Joe was a two-weight Central Area title contender, defeated a future England champion, and shared the ring with British, Commonwealth and World champions.
As a promoter, he is single-handedly bringing big-time boxing back to The Garden of England and his hometown of Worksop.
Welcome to his weekly column – exclusive to BBN.
Clean sweep for JE Promotions at ‘The New Era’
Richard Harrison (2-13) W PTS v Darren Snow (4-10-1)
It was a close fight between Surrey’s Harrison and Yorkshire’s Snow to kick off the show.
Snowy beat him on their first fight in Worksop last November and that was a close one, too, but Harrison came through this one.
Luke Gibbo (1-0) W PTS v Ibrar Riyaz (4-114-4)
Former Team GB boxer Luke Gibbo kicked off his paid career with a shutout points win over seasoned veteran Ibrar Riyaz, who had experienced 600 rounds before he entered the ring that night.
Luke is a very classy fighter and he’ll move on quickly. He’ll be fighting for the Southern Area title before you know it.
He’s got a good team around him and wicked support! He’s massive already, he sold 15 tables and over 200 tickets!
Oli Edwards (4-0) TKO 3 v Scott Hillman (0-16)
The unbeaten middleweight from the Invicta Gym in Sheerness beat a lad who had previously never been stopped before in a 16-month-long professional career.
It was the 160-pounder’s second consecutive TKO win having blasted out former foe Laszlo Kovacs (9-4) in just 24-seconds in his last outing in October 2016.
Oli is now ready for the big step up as he’s not a novice pro anymore. He’s 22 and has done his apprentice now, so I can see him knocking on the door for titles very soon now that he’s not a boy anymore.
Martin Hillman (9-3) W PTS v Kamil Jaworek (3-5)
Sidcup’s Hillman and Polish opponent Jaworek had a scrappy fight with each having a point deducted for holding. Martin’s never had a point deducted before, the other kid was just a spoiler and made him look bad.
He knocked him down, and I thought he was hurt, but the ref didn’t count it as a knockdown.
Hillman will be looking to challenge for the Southern Area featherweight title next, having already experienced the 10-round championship contest at the weight above when he took on Boy Jones last November.
Chris Matthews (6-0) W PTS v Russ Midgley (1-14-2)
Unbeaten super-featherweight Chris Matthews continued his unbeaten streak with a points win over 34-year-old Russ Midgley from Yorkshire.
The 130-pounder is another one who’s grown out of his shell now. He’s getting better in the ring and a bigger following now. He’s selling more and more tickets and has managed to get a few sponsors behind him. He’s ready for six-rounders next.
Next shows
The next JE Promotions show is this month in Worksop. It’s the 26th at the North Notts Arena.
We will back in Maidstone for May 6th with a lot of the same boys on the show. I already know that Luke Gibbo wants to get back out straight away, but he has to let his cut heal for a few weeks first.
We are looking at a Southern Area title defence for Grant Dennis. The British Board are reviewing some possible fights now. More will be revealed next week.
The shows are thriving in Kent now so I want to keep building them up and getting more of the boys out on them.
MC Dave Bassant
My MC for the shows Dave Bassant got his MC license recently and I would like to use this opportunity to say a big thanks to him for all his help.
I know Dave from Box to Win Gym in Rochester where he goes to keep fit. I brought him on board to help me out with the shows and he’s been with me since day one.
He’s even helping me out with extra things on the shows still now. He just does the MCing and auction now but he used to help me out with the floor plan and lots of things in the setting up of the shows. He still lends a hand with things even though he doesn’t need to, so he’s a great help.
I’d also like to say thanks to Haidar Sadik, who has come on board as a trainer and corner-man for JE Promotions.
He was in Chris Matthews’ corner at the weekend as he picked up his sixth straight win.
He’s a nice kid who used to be a pro. He boxed 10 times in the pros on some big shows like when he stepped up to fight Jake Ball on his debut at the O2 Arena on Sky Sports.
He went on the road to earn some money from the sport and did well for himself. Now he’s a trainer and helping me out, so I’d like to give thanks to Haidar also.
For tickets to the next show, visit https://www.facebook.com/JEsportsnetwork/ or call 07883 943994
JE Promotions would like to thank Kent Trade Frames – Campbell Nutrition – Invicta Gym – Fighting Fit Gym – Roofdec – 1ClickPrint and PR Manager Tim Rickson