Former British champ Tommy Langford has his next fight date revealed in a new weight category
Former British and Commonwealth middleweight champion Tommy Langford (20-3) will next fight on March 9 on a BCB Promotions show at the Walsall Town Hall as Connor Parker (10-0) and Cori Gibbs (12-0) clash on the same card in a final eliminator for the British super-lightweight title.
‘The Baggies Bomber’, named so for his avid West Brom FC following, is stepping up to super-middleweight in an attempt to rebuild his career, which once saw him ranked as highly as second in the WBO middleweight standings when previously signed to Frank Warren.
The 29-year-old from Birmingham recently joined local promoter Errol Johnson’s Black Country Boxing stable after back to back defeats to local rival, and now stable-mate, Jason Welborn, who recently gave up the British middleweight belt he won from Langford to challenge World super-welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd, unsuccessfully as he was stopped with body shots in the fourth-round by the American.
Bideford-born Langford is relishing the opportunity to step up in weight, he said, “It’s a local fight for my Baggies family to get excited about and I hope to get lots of support from the local area. I grew up in North Devon, so I know I’ll get fans coming up from there also, so I’m really looking forward to getting back in there with everybody behind me.
“This next fight will be different for me, not just because it’s my super-middleweight debut but because I’m essentially rebuilding from the ground up.”
Langford, a former England amateur captain, made the decision to move up to super-middleweight after conceding his British middleweight belt to Welborn in a small hall barnstormer at the Walsall Town Hall, which was later voted as the BBBofC Contest of the Year 2018.
Langford was rocked by Welborn in the second-round of his second British title defence and received a standing eight-count but rallied back to boss the resuming rounds, setting up an epic finale, which saw Welborn win by a single point and land the Lonsdale belt that had eluded him on two previous occasions.
Their rematch was played out live on Sky Sports last September on a Matchroom show at the Birmingham Arena, which saw Langford hit the deck twice and, once again, bounce back to dominate the contest only to be cruelly denied the decision by just a single point.
Since the last fight, Langford has quietly been working on his move up a weight to the talent-laden 168lbs division where his sparring partner Callum Smith is currently no.1.
“I’ll be taking part in a six-rounder against an opponent yet to be confirmed, but I’ll be hoping for a fully-fledged super-middleweight that will give me a really good experience for my first fight in the new weight class,” Langford said.
“I want to test my skills at the new weight, but I also want to win convincingly to get back in the title mix again. Becoming a two-weight British or Commonwealth champion really appeals to me, at the moment.”
Unbeaten Zach Parker, 24 from nearby Derbyshire, is the current British champ at super-middleweight and someone that Langford has his sights firmly set on.
The headlining fight on the March 9 card will be Connor Parker vs Cori Gibbs in a final eliminator for the British super-lightweight title, with the winner set to meet the champion Robbie Davies Jr next. More fights are set to be announced shortly.
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Tommy Langford would like to thank his sponsors HÖRFA; Shaftesbury Casino & Broadway Casino; BLK Sport; UK Display Stands; JS Wright & Co Ltd; Strategy Plus; CNP Professional; Atlas Pain Relief; Ringside UK; and Agent Tim Rickson