English champ Sam Gilley faces Drew Brown on April 15
Sam Gilley will defend his English super-welterweight title against undefeated challenger Drew Brown at the upcoming #MTKFightNight on April 15.
The event at York Hall in London is headlined by a British and Commonwealth lightweight title fight between Gavin Gwynne and Luke Willis, and will be broadcast live in the US on ESPN+ in association with Top Rank, and worldwide on IFL TV.
Once-beaten Gilley (13-1, 6 KOs), trained by Rod Julian, makes the first defence of his English title after winning it in November, stopping Evaldas Korsakas in the fourth round in Birmingham.
The 26-year-old six-footer now turns his attention to unbeaten Brown (12-0, 1 KO), from Northampton, who makes his long-awaited return after nearly three years out of the ring, with his biggest success coming in 2018 when he won the Ultimate Boxxer tournament.
Gilley said: "This fight is quite special for me. I made my debut at York Hall, so to be making my first defence of the English title there too is brilliant. It will be an amazing atmosphere on the night.
"Drew is the first fighter I’ve boxed that’s taller than me so that’ll be a change. He's been out of the ring for a while but he may have been in the gym regularly getting good sparring.
"It all depends on how he has been while he’s not been fighting. I’ll prepare for the best version of him possible. After I win this, I want the British title."
Brown said: "I'm thrilled to be back. It's been a while since I've fought due to various reasons, but now I've got this fight and it would mean everything to me to win the English title.
"I didn't know too much about Sam but I saw his fight when he won the English title. He did well, but I think my size will be a factor in this fight. I'll put the pressure on him and we'll see how he does.
"The English title is what I've been working towards my whole career. I'll win this, and then the plan is to push on for other titles."
MTK Global Promoter Lee Eaton added: "It's great to add this English title fight between Sam Gilley and Drew Brown to our MTK Fight Night event next month. They were set to fight in February, but now they'll be part of a stacked show at York Hall.
"Sam has looked impressive since moving up to 154lbs, but he'll have a tough test against Drew Brown, so it's definitely going to be an intriguing fight and an exciting one for the fans."
Elsewhere on the event on April 15, Nina Hughes goes up against Bec Connolly in a rescheduled clash after they were originally due to meet in February. More fights for the card will be revealed in the coming days.
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