MTK Global return on Friday at York Hall, Bethnal Green, and in the bill topper, Gavin Gwynne defends the Commonwealth lightweight title, and looks to add the vacant British belt, as the Welshman faces the unbeaten Luke Willis.
Gwynne vs Willis can be seen on IFLTV and ESPN+.
The champion has challenged for the Lonsdale Belt on two previous occasions, losing a decision in a spirited display to Joe Cordina in 2019, and he was halted in six by James Tennyson in 2020.
The 31-year-old has rebounded in style though, starting in February 2021, where as underdog, he impressively stopped the previously unbeaten Sean McComb in seven rounds to win the vacant Commonwealth crown.
The Welshman was last out in November, taking a wide points win in his first defence against Jack O’Keeffe.
Now comes Liverpool’s Willis (11-0, 1 KO), a sound technician who faces a scheduled twelve rounder for the first time in his career.
The 30-year-old southpaw jumped from six rounders to ten for his last assignment in October last year, where he took a majority decision win over Rylan Charlton at the Echo Arena, and this will a marked step up in class for him, with Gwynne (14-2, 3 KOs) looking to become the first man from Merthyr to hold the British title since the legendary Johnny Owen over 40 years ago.
Prediction: There’s an argument for both men to win this one, but I lean towards Gwynne with the more experience and seasoning in what could be a scrappy fight. The Welshman can take the win with a stoppage in the championship rounds.
Zaurbek meets Laamouz
The talented Sultan Zaurbek fights in the UK once more after five straight bouts in his native Kazakhstan, defending his WBO European super featherweight title for a second time against Haithem Laamouz.
Zaurbek (12-0, 8 KOs) won the belt in July last year with a wide points victory over Ronnie Clark, and he retained in December, stopping Ryan Wheeler in six.
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The 25-year-old southpaw now faces Laamouz (17-1, 7 KOs), a man originally from Malta but now based in the USA.
He has mainly boxed in Malta and Australia, but travelled to Italy in his last fight, winning the EU title with a points win over Mario Alfano.
Prediction: The pick is for Zaurbek to retain clearly on the scorecards.
Gilley defends English belt against Brown
Sam Gilley defends his English welterweight title for the first time on this bill, and he meets the unbeaten Northampton native, Drew Brown (12-0, 1 KO).
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Gilley (13-1, 6 KOs) won the vacant title in his last outing in November, knocking Evaldas Korsakas out in four rounds at Villa Park.
Prediction: Brown has never been past six, so Gilley can defend comfortably enough on the cards here.
Hughes clashes with Connolly
Nina Hughes (1-0) has her second professional bout, and she should see off the always value for money Bec Connolly (3-12) over the distance.
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Remaining Undercard
Unbeaten super welterweight trio, Dean Richardson (12-0, 9 KOs), Carl Fail (5-0, 2 KOs) and Paul Ryan (3-0, 2 KOs) all feature, against opponents to be confirmed, as does super lightweight, Pierce O’Leary (8-0, 4 KOs), welterweight prospect, Elliot Whale (5-0, 1 KO) and Jimmy Croxson makes his professional debut.
