The draw has been made for Ultimate Boxxer 5
In front of a packed BT Sports studio in east London, Steve Bunce and Spencer Fearon completed the live draw to determine who will face who in the quarter-finals of Ultimate Boxxer 5.
Eight super-welterweights are set to compete at the Indigo at The O2 on September 20, and for the first time the octet includes an Olympian competing for glory – Steven Donnelly.
The talent-rich batch of 154-pounders looking to emulate Mikael Lawal by winning the Golden Robe and soaring up the professional ranks, met in London today to find out who they will be facing in the quarter-finals of the competition in just rwo weeks time.
Kingsley ‘Obi’ Egbunike (black shorts) and Lenny Fuller (white shorts) will trade blows in quarter-final one, before Kaan Hawes (red shorts) faces Joshua Ejakpovi (pink shorts). The third quarter-final will see Lewis Syrett (yellow shorts) battle Sean Robinson (blue shorts), while Aaron Collins (grey shorts) will enter the ring in the final quarter-final bout against Steven Donnelly (green shorts).
The winner of quarter-final one will face the winner of quarter-final two, with the victors in three and four also squaring up in the last four.
Here's how the quarter-final draw lines up:
FIGHT 1
Kingsley Egbunike vs Lenny Fuller
Londoner Kingsley Egbunike (4-0, 1KO), known to all as ‘Obi’, is trained by Greg Stallard and Allan Grey at Stallard’s Boxing in Surbiton. The 26-year-old has benefited from sparring with history-making world champion James DeGale and 11-0 welterweight Chris '2Slick' Kongo, and has won all four of his professional outings without dropping a single round, with his sole KO coming in his last fight against Kristaps Zulgis at the York Hall.
In the opposing corner, Lenny ‘The Main Man’ Fuller (5-0, 0KO) will hope to have all of his fellow travelling community behind him when he steps into the ring at The O2. By his own admission, he had just a brief stint as an amateur, but won titles in the thriving unlicensed scene in hislocal area in Kent, then regathered focus as he entered the professional ranks with JE Promotions, where he raced to 5-0 inside a year.
The 25-year-old draws a huge crowd and is already being tipped as one of the hottest young prospects to come from Joe Elfidh's emerging JE Promotions stable.
FIGHT 2
Kaan Hawes vs Joshua Ejakpovi
Cricket-loving Kaan Hawes (5-1-1, 0KO) will be hoping for some Jos Buttler-style power-hitting of his own when he enters the ring to try to take home the Ultimate Boxxer V crown. He will become the first man to take part in two Ultimate Boxxer events, having previously fought at UBIII, losing to Kieron Conway. He’s backed by good friend singer-songwriter Olly Murs – they met playing Sunday League football years ago.
Personal trainer Joshua Ejakpovi (12-1, 3KO) featured in the 2016 Legend of Tarzan movie, alongside Samuel L Jackson, and he has also starred in an exhibition at London’s Tate Gallery. But boxing is where the true passion lies for ‘The Hollywood Josh’ and he will be one to watch out for when the BT Sport cameras capture the action on September 20. He’s benefited from sparring with Billy Joe Saunders, and has also trained at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas. His only professional defeat has come to fellow UBV contender Sean Robinson.
FIGHT 3
Lewis Syrett vs Sean Robinson
Lewis Syrett (6-0, 2KO) also enters UBV with an undefeated 6-0 record, fighting out of Sevenoaks ABC and coached by Andy Knight and Paul Lynch. This aggressive, power-punching southpaw is chomping at the bit to get in the ring on September 20. After his first professional fight – which he won against Aleksander Chukaleyski – he returned to his hotel for a well-earned sleep. The next day he ran the London Marathon in memory of a friend who had recently died. Syrett finished in 3 hours 50 minutes.
The current Southern Area Super Welterweight champion, Sean Robinson (9-0-1, 2KO), comes into the tournament with an impressive record, with one of his nine wins coming against fellow UBV contender Joshua Ejakpovi. Fighting out of the Club KO gym in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, QPR fan Sean is looking forward to fighting at the Indigo in front of his girlfriend Tiffany, brother Luke and Father David Smith. However, we may find Dad backstage – although he goes to all of Sean’s fights, he doesn’t watch due to nerves.
FIGHT 4
Aaron Collins vs Steven Donnelly
Aaron ‘Bam Bam’ Collins (6-0, 0KO's) only took up boxing four years ago at the age of 22, and shed an impressive five stone off his frame in order to compete. The Frimley-born fighter, who now operates out of the Camberley Boxing Club, lists Mike Tyson and Vasyl Lomachenko as two of his boxing heroes, with the 26-year-old hoping to add to his unblemished 6-0 professional record.
Tournament favourite Steven Donnelly (5-0, 1KO) began his boxing journey at age 13, and took to the sport quickly, winning his maiden Country Antrim title within six weeks of first putting on a pair of gloves. He has competed in three Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal in both 2014 and 2018. In between that, he represented Ireland in the Rio Olympics. After a highly-impressive amateur career, he made his professional debut in August last year, beating Kevin McCauley at Windsor Park in Belfast.
"We have eight very strong super welterweights, and this draw has only heightened expectations ahead of September 20,’ said Ben Shalom, Ultimate Boxxer founder.
"To fight on this platform at the Indigo at the O2, live on BT Sport, is the thing dreams are made of. We are delighted to give these eight fighters their chance, and the fans are going to be in for a great night of boxing," he added.