BBN preview JE Promotions’ ‘Unleashed’ card in Maidstone
JE Promotions host exciting nine-fight card in Maidstone on February 23
February 23 at Mote Park, Maidstone, alongside six unbeaten prospects.
Lenny Fuller vs Danny Little
‘The Main Man’ looking to continue his meteoric rise against ‘Lethal’ Little
The main attraction on the bill is ‘The Main Man’ from Maidstone Lenny Fuller (4-0).
The 24-year-old middleweight has raced to 4-0 in a very short space of time between his May debut and his last fight in November 2018. All four contests were decided on points and now the Chart Sutton resident gets back to the ring in just the second month of the New Year eager to continue his busy momentum and winning run.
The former unlicensed champion, who had a limited amateur career with Westry ABC, faces Danny ‘Lethal’ Little (7-53-2), a 33-year-old super-welterweight from Hull.
Fuller steps up to six-rounds for the first time in his fledgling career against an opponent that hasn’t won in his last 14 fights. However, his last two wins both came in six-rounders against unbeaten Jordan Clayton (7-0-1) in December 2017 and Southern Area title contender Tony Milch (13-1) February 2018.
His forthcoming fight with Fuller will mark the anniversary of his last win over Bushey boxer Milch and could spur him on to cause another upset in celebration of the last time his hand was raised. Fuller, an ambitious, aggressive, hardworking and determined fighter, will have other ideas.
Luke Gibb vs Yousef Al Hamidi
‘Gibbo’ enters the next phase of his comeback to contention
Former Team GB member Luke Gibb improved his record to 4-1 with a win over Blackburn’s Naheem Chaudry (0-28) in his last fight last October, becoming only the second person to ever drop the Blackburn boxer when a short uppercut landed heavily in the fourth and final round.
That win took away the heartache of his sole career defeat 10-months prior when challenging for the British Challenge belt against Lewis Ritson sparring partner Jordan “Baby J” Ellison (9-12), which ended in a 78-74 points defeat for Gibb.
The Bexleyheath boxer, with an outstanding amateur pedigree that saw him reach a space on the Team GB Developmant Squad, next tackles 41-year-old Syrian Yousef Al Hamidi (16-123-4) in what will be the veteran’s 144th bout.
‘Gibbo’s’ pressure-fighting, skill and aggression make for exciting spectacles for his sizeable fan base. The 29-year-old nightclub promoter will be looking to get back into contention for the British Challenge belt again.
Jack Raines vs TBA
Raines eyeing Southern Area title this year
Unbeaten super-featherweight prospect Jack Raines (5-0), 26 from Sittingbourne, is knocking on the door for a Southern Area title shot, which will next be contested on March 9 at York Hall between unbeaten Londoner Liam Dillon (8-0) and former challenger David Birmingham (8-3). Raines, trained by John Cole in Longfield, Kent, will have a keen eye on the winner of that clash.
Ahead of that he faces his next test on February 23 in what will be the Medwayer’s sixth professional contest against an opponent yet to be confirmed.
Danny Barrett vs Dylan Draper
New dad Danny wants to get back to business
Welterweight Danny Barrett (1-0), 26 from Stoke in Kent, defeated Slovakian opponent, Rudolf Durica (1-20), on his debut on May 12 on the JE Promotions’ ‘Young Guns’ card at Mote Hall, Maidstone.
The Haringey Box Cup gold medallist, who began his combat journey as a kick-boxer, became a father soon after his debut and his new-found paternal duties since kept him away from the squared circle, but returns to face Braintree’s Dylan Draper (1-24), who kicked off 2019 with his first ever career win.
Only one man in 25 has ever managed to stop the 36-year-old, so Barrett will have to be patient and expect to go the full four-rounds with the Essex man, who will be exuding confidence after having his hand raised so recently.
Martin Hillman vs Jake Pollard
Hillman not quitting Southern Area title dreams
Three-time Southern Area title contender Martin Hillman (11-6) has experienced heartbreak in his last four title fights – three for the Southern Area strap and one for the British Challenge belt against stablemate Tom McGinley – but has unwavering ambitions to finally become an Area champion in 2019.
He was very unlucky not to have his hand raised in July last year when challenging for the vacant Southern Area super-bantamweight title against home boy Duane Winters (9-1) in Bristol, where a single point denied him the chance to cause an upset from the away corner.
His first step back towards that will be on February 23 against Barcelona-based Nicaraguan Reynalda Cajina (14-56-5). The 36-year-old Central American has been involved in three WBC title fights, but has failed to win any titles in his 13-year career that has seen him rack up 366 rounds over 76 bouts.
He will have his hands full with the busy and aggressive Orpington man, who will be looking for a good performance to boost his confidence and place in the super-bantamweight rankings – the division he has finally settled on after title contention in both the featherweight and super-featherweight divisions.
Cajina hasn’t won any of his last 29 fights but just went the distance with London 2012 Olympic silver medalist John Joe Nevin over eight-rounds, so he won’t be bowled over either. Hillman hasn’t stopped anyone for three years so he’ll be chomping at the bit to improve that statistic, so it’s likely be an action-filled, high-paced fight.
Paul Brown vs Callum Ide
'Bomber' back in fourth contest to complete debut year in pro ranks
Light-heavyweight Paul Brown (3-0), 29 from Margate, has won every round of his professional career so far with wins over Chessington’s Richard Harrison (3-31) last October, Darren Snow (5-23-1) in May and Scott Hillman (0-24) on his debut in February.
The southpaw, who was an ABA Southern Counties champion, will take part in another four-rounder on the anniversary of his pro bow against Callum Ide (0-23).
‘Bomber’ puts his shots together well and has a high output. Callum will be required to stay switched on and mobile in his second visit to Mote Park, as Brown likes to take advantage of when he has his man trapped on the ropes by unloading to the body, so the South Coast southpaw is very likely to either claim all four rounds yet again in this light-heavyweight contest, but may also have a chance to score a maiden stoppage if he can land one of those body blows just right.
Jack Budge vs Jay Carney
Two winning fighters collide
Featherweight Jack Budge also increased his record 3-0 in his second appearance under the JE Promotions banner, having had his debut under Chris Sanigar in 2016 when working as an apprentice jockey in Lambourn, Berkshire.
The 24-year-old featherweight from Hoo benefitted from sparring with British flyweight champ Andrew Selby, Commonwealth super-bantamweight titlist Ashley Lane before returning home to Kent to sign with JE Promotions.
The talented youngster tackles winning fighter Jay ‘Bam Bam’ Carney (5-4-2) in an attempt to put himself into title contention in early 2019.
The 32-year-old Liverpudlian only lost one in his first eight contests and will provide the Medway man with a good test on the 54th day of the year.
Danny Shannon vs Scott Hillman
Big deal for 'The Real Deal' as he has first ever fight in the home corner
Super-middleweight Danny ‘The Real Deal’ Shannon (3-7-1) fights out of the home corner for the first time in his four-and-a-half-year pro career in his bid to win British Challenge belt in 2019.
The 27-year-old from Chatham was JE Promotions’ first ever signing way back in 2014 and now trains with Ray Askew and Sam Latham at the Invicta Gym in Sheerness. With the new team in his corner, he has already seen vast improvements defeating and flooring unbeaten Bedford boxer Michael Stephenson last July.
Eastbourne’s Hillman has faced three fighters with a losing record before and lost all of them. In his last bout he provided Lewis van Poetsch with a win to mark his 100th bout. Shannon should be able to improve his patchy record in his 10th pro contest against the 36-year-old who has hit the deck more than half a dozen times in the past two years.
Chris Matthews vs Kieran Holman
Matthews is back where he belongs
Maidstone’s young super-featherweight Chris Matthews (9-2) returns to JE Promotions after experiencing one fight with Goodwin Promotions.
The 24-year-old was disappointingly defeated on points by Ukrainian Dmytro Kostenko (2-9) at the York Hall in Bethnal Green last November.
Before his decision to leave JE, he suffered his first career loss to journeyman Jules Phillips (1-12) in a six-round featherweight contest in February 2018. He was unlucky to lose by a single point as it was a very close battle, which could have been scored either way. In the following fight, he handled an aggressive and ambitious Michael Horabin (0-1) with patience and maturity to bounce back with a good, solid win, but his decision to look afield resulted in a second loss under a different promotional banner.
He returns to Mote Park – a venue he has fought in seven times before – against Sheffield’s ‘Hitman’ Kieran Holman (0-4). The 20-year-old had a rocky start to his pro career with two back to back stoppage defeats, but has since lasted the distance in his following two bouts against good opponents with a combined 12-1 record.
Matthews desperately needs a confidence-boosting victory in his 12th fight to kick-start the winning momentum once again. He was heading towards a British Challenge belt contest until his second six-rounder was reversed against him, so will be looking to reignite that goal in 2019.
Promoter Joe Elfidh commented on his ninth event at Mote Park, “The shows are getting bigger and better, and the lads are all improving on their records. This is all about matching them in good fights to set them up for title tests in 2019. Most of the boxers are either at title level already or just need a test to get them into contention.
"2019 is going to be a big year for JE Promotions and this show in February will be the one to kick it all off!”
Follow JE Promotions on Twitter: @JE_Promotions
For tickets to the next show, visit JE Promotions’ FB Page or call 07883 943 994
JE Promotions would like to thank Kent Trade Frames – Campbell Nutrition – Swerve City – Basement159 – RoofDec – 1ClickPrint – Shiatsu Shane – Tierney Photography – Laking Painting & Decorating – Invicta Gym and PR Manager Tim Rickson