Another fantastic all-British showdown has been added to the big ExCeL show on Saturday, November 29th with Frankie Gavin facing-off against rival Bradley Skeete. Gavin vs. Skeete will feature on the undercard of the heavyweight settler between Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury.
Birmingham star Gavin, who will defend his British title and bids to regain his Commonwealth belt against Skeete, returns to action after his close points loss to European Champion Leonard Bundu in August.
“I’m glad Skeete took the fight at last, it’s going to be a thriller on a huge night of boxing,” Said Gavin.
“He’s a good up-and-coming fighter, but I’ll be too much for him in terms of skill and experience. I commend him for taking the fight against me, but he’s really out of depth in this one,”
“He says he wants it, but does he really mean that. We’ll see on the night if he wants it more. I may have lost to Bundu, but it’s made a hungrier and better fighter and I’ll show that against Skeete when I beat him.”
Skeete, who currently holds the WBA Intercontinental title, maintained his unbeaten record on Saturday with a second round stoppage of Brazilian Leandro Mendes Pinto at the York Hall and is relishing his date with Gavin.
“I’m ready for Gavin and I’ll beat him,” Said Skeete.
“This fight has been building up for a while and I’ll will break through into the mainstream with a win over a good champion like Gavin. This is the fight that will really make my name,”
“We’re both putting everything on the line, we’ve both got families to provide for, we’ve both got careers and the winner is a step closer to the world title,”
“I’m unbeaten and I’ll remain unbeaten on the night.”
Coyle vs. Katsidis Notes
Michael Katsidis is leaving no stone unturned having already arrived in the UK ahead of his clash with Tommy Coyle at the Ice Arena in Hull on October 25. The Australian, who will be trained by Maurice Core for the Lightweight contest, is taking no chances with his preparations and is already making significant strides into what he expects to be a perfect camp.
Katsidis, who has traded leather in some epic contests with star-studded names such as Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Diaz and Joel Casamayor is positive he will add the British scalp of Coyle to those of Graham Earl and Kevin Mitchell who he stopped in 2007 and 2011 respectively.
For Coyle, a win will continue his ascent up the 135lbs rankings and clear the way to a potential Battle of Hull next summer against friend and rival, Luke Campbell. A win for Katsidis will not only see him claim his opponent’s IBF International Lightweight strap but will see his comeback in full swing as he targets another world title shot.
Coyle, fast becoming known as one of boxing’s modern day entertainers can’t wait to share the ring with his opponent known as ‘The Great’.
“I used to be a big fan of his and I still am a big fan of Michael Katsidis,” said Coyle. “I’ve watched his fights for years. When I was offered the fight I took it straight away. I think all the boxing fans know I like to be involved in exciting fights and I’m sure this one will be another one of them.”
The 25 year old says that his thrill-a-minute fight of the year contender against Daniel Brizuela, who fights Luke Campbell on the same show in Hull, back in February hasn’t taken anything away from him as some have suggested.
“I don’t think it took much out of me, I’m only young,” said Coyle. “I’ve got fresh legs, it’s not like I’ve been involved in ten of those fights it was just the one. I was in fantastic shape. I could’ve done 15 rounds that night.
“My lasting memory was picking myself up each time from the canvas. As the counts got bigger, the crowd got louder. That’s what picked me up and pulled me through fighting at home. I’ve got fantastic fans. But that adds character to someone generally. It’s certainly done that to me. It’s given me confidence. I was in there against a world class fighter and I was on the canvas four times. To come back to win a fight which, many said has been fight of the year, it shows character. It shows I can dig down into the trenches. It’s second nature to me.”
Coyle’s clash with Katsidis headlines a fantastic night’s boxing at the Hull Arena which also features Campbell against Brizuela and Gavin McDonnell stepping into international waters for the first time against Vusi Malinga. The show also sees hot prospect Gamal Yafai continue his education plus the showcase of local talent Nathon Smith, Tom Knight, Charlie Payton and Connor Seymour.
Derry Mathews vs. Adam Dingsdale
Liverpool ace Derry Mathews will face Adam Dingsdale on the big Echo Arena show on Saturday, October 25th. Mathews features as chief-support on a stacked title card headlined by Paul Butler’s record-breaking world title challenge against IBF World Super-Flyweight Champion Zolani Tete, plus Liverpool favourites Liam Smith, Kevin Satchell and Tom Stalker all in title action.
The 31-year-old has his first fight since defeating Martin Gethin in May to become a two-time British Lightweight Champion. Mathews perforated his eardrum in the fight and was unable to defend his title against Terry Flanagan so vacated the title to allow Gethin and Terry Flanagan to contest it.
‘Dirty’ Derry is now desperate to get back into the ring and produce a stunning performance against Dingsdale to claim a championship belt and then continue towards his dream of challenging for a world title.
Dingsdale has only one loss on his record to the Irishman Stephen Ormond – who defeated Mathews on points last year – and is coming off two back-to-back wins over Kristian Dochev and Floyd Moore this year.
Mathew’s is raring to put on a good show in front of his home fans.
“Dingsdale is a good fighter, he comes from a good stable, he’s got a good coach and he’ll be looking to cause an upset in my hometown,” Said Mathews.
“I can’t and won’t let that happen. Any losses now would be devastating to my career and with me looking to fight for a world title in the next few fights I need to prove that I deserve a world title shot by destroying Dingsdale,”
“If I can’t beat Dingsdale, where do I go? The pressure is on me to do a good job on him because my future and career is on the line,”
“He gave Ormond a good run, I believe that if I met Ormond again I’d beat him, but that’s another story, I reckon I could stop Dingsdale which would be a great result as he hasn’t been stopped yet.”
