Johnny Nelson joins The Box Off
The Box Off has confirmed that British boxing legend Johnny Nelson MBE will star as a Team Captain for the organisation's inaugural fight night, alongside multi-weight world champion Ricky Hatton, Showbiz icon Tom Skinner, and rap star Jaykae.
Innovative new boxing promotion, The Box Off has today confirmed Johnny Nelson MBE will join as the Leeds Captain to complete its star-studded line up, with Ricky Hatton, Tom Skinner, and Jaykae leading teams from Manchester, London and Birmingham respectively.
The Box Off 2023 will see the four city-based teams compete head-to-head in an exciting knock-out competition, which will pit some of the country’s best up and coming talent against each other.
The Box Off confirmed its three captains last week, promising fans a huge name would be announced to lead the team from Leeds, with British boxing icon Nelson charged with leading his prospective champions into the knockout competition format.
Nelson, who is the longest-reigning world cruiserweight champion in history, will be captaining Leeds ‘The Armoury’. Nelson said:
“It’s a real honour to be representing the city of Leeds through this revolutionary new tournament. As a proud Yorkshireman, I’ll be giving everything to ensure we’re recognised as THE home of boxing in the UK.
“I was fortunate enough to have Brendan Ingle mentor me through my career and if I can pass on any of his legacy to my team, then I’m certain Leeds will be victorious in Telford next month.”
Razi Hassan, Managing Director at The Box Off commented: “We’ve worked so hard as an organisation for the past three years to deliver an exciting new product to the boxing world, and we couldn’t have asked for better captains to help execute our vision.
“Johnny is one of the most recognisable figures in British boxing thanks to his punditry following a stellar career as cruiserweight world champion. I can’t wait to see how he gets on alongside Ricky Hatton, Tom Skinner and Jaykae.
The teams will be matched in two semi-finals, deciding which individual fighters will go through to the final. The format sees fighters from London and Birmingham face off in one half of the draw, with fighters from Leeds taking on Manchester in the other.
The Box Off’s first event will take place in Telford at the Telford International Centre on Saturday 16th September. Tickets can be purchased here: https://theboxoff.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/the_box_off_semifinals/press
The Box Off has been backed by the British Boxing Board of Control, as it brings a new competition format to domestic boxing.
The Format
· Each team consists of five fighters, one from each weight class, plus a team captain
· Fighters will clash over four rounds in the semi-final, with the winners of each progressing to box off in the final to see who will be crowned Box Off champions
· Finalists will also earn four points for their team, with winners/champions in the final stage also gaining a further six points
· The team with the highest points total amassed over the two stages will be crowned Box Off team champions
· Semi-final bouts will consist of 4 x 3-minute rounds
· Final bouts will consist of 6 x 3-minute rounds
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