Fighters in the Prizefighter Welterweights 4 will be able to tag in a fresh fighter at ringside for the first time at the sold-out York Hall, Bethnal Green on Saturday night.
A host of stars are set to be in the home of boxing on Saturday night, and they will be gloved up and ready for action if called upon by any of the eight boxers gunning for glory in the 33rd edition of the eight-man, one night tournament.
Promoter Eddie Hearn believes the tag-team element will add a real twist to proceedings in east London, and revealed some of the names that could be involved.
“I think this new rule will add a great new dimension to the night,” said Hearn. “The likes of unbeaten Sheffield Welterweight star Kell Brook and former World champion Darren Barker will all be there on Saturday along with a number of great fighters, and any one of the boys in Prizefighter can look to use them to their advantage.
“Some fighters may prefer to go it alone though as they would have to share the prize pot with the second boxer, so it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.”
Brook has a World title shot lined-up for the summer against either IBF champion Shawn Porter or his April 19 challenger Paul Malignaggi, and the Sheffield man will jump at the chance to get more rounds under his belt if called upon.
“I expect that I’ll be in demand on Saturday night and that suits me,” said Brook. “Any time I can get in the ring before the big one is great so I’m chomping at the bit to get in there and get my hands on the £2,000 KO bonus.”
Barker announced his retirement in January but after spending time back in Tony Sims’ gym, the former IBF king is prepared to give his troublesome hip one last go.
“Once I got back into the gym with Tony the buzz was still there so Saturday is a great chance to see what I’ve got left,” said Barker. “I only packed the gear away a couple of months ago and the hip felt fine going up into the loft to get my bag, so the signs are good.”
