Super Saturday Approaches With World Title Triple Header
British boxing is spoilt for choice this weekend as three world title fights take place on a bumper Saturday.
British boxing is spoilt for choice this weekend as three world title fights take place on a bumper Saturday.
It is a weekend that delivers in every compartment too. You want a puncher? Have one. You want a boxer? Have one. You want a hometown favourite? Have two.
It’s a huge shame that, in order to see all three of these fights, you will have to juggle your devices. Unfortunately, that is just the way it is in modern-day boxing with so many events taking place throughout the year.
Let’s start with the battle on the beach, and whilst this isn’t quite D-Day, it is an operation that will require the overthrowing of enemy force.
Bournemouth’s Chris Billam-Smith has used the last 12 months to prove that his insistent demand on bringing big-time boxing to the south-coast was no claptrap.
Two fights, two wins, and two ear-splitting atmospheres have acted as validation for his big night at the Vitality Stadium this Saturday. Even better, he gets to go toe-to-toe with a friend turned foe.
Enter Lawrence Okolie.
Despite two years as champion, the current WBO belt holder is still waiting to deliver the performance that substantiates his claim as the division’s kingpin.
Critiquing Okolie’s last performance was easy - it was laboured, spiritless and primarily dull. But with Billam-Smith knowing Okolie’s habits from their days in camp together, if things do get static, hopefully the challenger can draw life to keep the fight rousing.
It is a cracking fight, and hopefully one that delivers on an entertainment front considering it will sweep the weekend’s viewing figures.
Manchester isn’t just the home of the English champions, but the home of the weekend’s most fascinating fight. It is a fight that, first time round, mirrored this seasons’ Premier League title race.
Whilst one played beautifully, leading the way towards glory, it was the other who delivered the knockout blow, and left clutching the reward.
Yes, that was Leigh Wood and Mauricio Lara’s first collision. Of course, far more brutal than the game of football could ever be, but not without the heartbreak.
However, this time the 10,000 strong Nottingham loyal have been relocated, to the city of Manchester where many an iconic rematch has taken place.
Steve Collins vs Nigel Benn, Anthony Crolla vs Darleys Perez, and now what promises to be one of the fieriest match-ups in the game at the moment.
Whilst Wood has revenge on his mind, Lara chases the feeling of rendering his opponent insentient. It is a fight in which both men will throw it down, declaring the winner as the divisions’ dreaded.
Finally we go to Belfast, a city entrenched in boxing history. Whispers of champions of the past echo the streets, the same streets walked by legends such as Carl Frampton and Wayne McCullough.
But Irish boxing is due a new figurehead, and one that represents the fighting enamour that those of the past have carried.
For Michael Conlan, this is that time.
But his task, a certain Luis Lopez, is one that comes with warning signs. Victory over Josh Warrington in December was the latest in the line of an influx of Mexican party-poopers.
A voluntary against a fighter of Conlan’s standing goes some way to showing the set of cajónes on the man. But, if it was cajónes that won fights, then Conlan may have already been crowned the latest son of Belfast.
He has a chance on Saturday to leave behind the agonising pain of last March, and take with him a piece of gold that yields colossal opportunity.
What a f****** weekend.
Oscar Bevis