Eddie Hearn and Matchroom hoped to have a crowd present when they announced a run of shows for the month of October.
Further tightening of UK sport rules mean that the first card will go ahead this Sunday at without any fans present, and this will be the case for the remaining bills that have been announced.
Sky Sports televise in the UK, with the action coming from behind closed doors in Milton Keynes.
Joshua Buatsi (12-0, KO10) is at the head of affairs this weekend, and the likeable former Olympic Bronze medallist makes a welcome return after over a year out of the ring.
Meeting a man with solid enough credentials, but not someone that you envisage will upset the apple cart in Croatia’s Marko Calic (11-0, KO6). Buatsi’s WBA International Light Heavyweight title is on the line over ten rounds.
Born in Accra, Ghana, and raised in Croydon, Buatsi has made serene progress as a professional after striking Bronze in Rio in 2016. He turned over in July 2017, and has a dozen straight wins on his record to date.
‘JB’ has held the International title since July 2018, with a first round knockout of Andrejs Pokumeiko, and has successfully defended the belt four times.
Tony Averlant and Reynold Quinlan were impressively halted inside a round at the back end of 2018, and Joshua added the vacant British title to his collection in March 2019, stopping Liam Conroy in three at The Copper Box.
A US debut was next, and Buatsi shone in stopping former World Title challenger, Marco Antonio Periban in four at Madison Square Garden, New York.
Buatsi was last out in August last year, as he broke down Ryan Ford in seven rounds.
In the opposite corner this Sunday Calic has a good amateur pedigree himself, and appeared in the World Series, as well as holding wins over Alen Babic and Kody Davies in the unpaid code.
As a professional, he hasn’t really pulled up trees, and has fought opposition with inferior or novice type records.
He has only fought in his homeland once, and that was in his last contest, an eight round points win in Pula against the 3-4-2 Serhii Zhuk.
Prediction: Buatsi has certainly looked special in his dozen fights so far, and it’s hard to make a case for Calic scoring a major upset in this one.
Once he feels Buatsi’s power and struggles with his speed, the Londoner can take his man out well before halfway.
There is World Title action heading the undercard, as Northampton’s Chantelle Cameron (12-0, KO7) makes a long awaited debut under the Matchroom banner.
Cameron will contest the vacant WBC Super Lightweight title, left behind by Jessica McCaskill after her wrenching of the Undisputed Welterweight titles last month against Cecilia Braekhus.
In the opposite corner will be Brazilian unknown quantity, Adriana dos Santos Araujo (6-0, KO1), who fights outside of South America for the first time.
Cameron turned professional under the guidance of McGuigan Promotions. And it only took five fights for her to secure the vacant IBO title at Lightweight, retiring Viviane Obenauf in six rounds in Leicester back in December 2017.
By early 2019 she made the move to MTK and a training team led by Jamie Moore. After two straight wins, Cameron then pitched a shut out against Anisha Basheel in Brentwood to become mandatory challenger to Katie Taylor.
Cameron wouldn’t wait around for a shot though, and instead, moved up a weight to widely outscore former Taylor foe, Anahi Esther Sanchez in her last fight in November 2019, before agreeing terms with Matchroom.
She remains in the ten stone division for this vacant title tilt, but not a lot is known about her opposition.
The 38-year-old, Sao Paulo based ‘Pitbull’, has only had six contests, and has only been a professional for just over three years.
Her best win is arguably her October 2019 points win against former IBF world champion, Claudia Andrea Lopez, and she was last seen in February this year, outscoring the then 6-0 Venezuelan, Estheliz Hernandez in her native Sao Paulo.
Araujo did win a Bronze at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, losing out in the semi finals in the opposite side of the draw to Katie Taylor, so she does possess some pedigree.
Prediction: Cameron is a real talent, and a World Title would really unlock doors for the likeable 29-year-old.
Although Araujo has amateur experience at the top level, at 38, it’s a tall order for her to become an established champion at the back end of her career.
Cameron does possess power, and I think that she can outlast the visitor, and can break her down for a late retirement or stoppage win.
English title action comes at Middleweight, where Linus Udofia (15-0, KO7) defends his belt against John Harding Junior (8-1-1, KO2).
The Steve Goodwin-backed Udofia has come up on the small hall circuit, and won the vacant belt with a majority verdict over Tyler Denny last November.
Harding failed in a previous bid for this title, stopped by Jack Cullen in August last year.
Croatian Heavyweight hope, Alen Babic (4-0, KO4) is back in action after his Sky Box Office appearance in August.
He meets 36-year-old Irishman, Niall Kennedy (13-1-1, KO8), who has mainly campaigned in the USA, and was stopped in five in his last outing against Devin Vargas back in August 2019.
Aqib Faiz (5-0, KO0) had to withdraw at very late notice from his meeting with Kane Baker (13-6, KO0) during the Fight Camp series in the Summer due to illness, but the two finally get it on over eight rounds at Super Featherweight.
There’s a debut for John Hedges, and he faces Belfast-based Angolan, Julio Cesar (3-4, KO1) over four at Super Middleweight.
