The second leg of a Frank Warren and BT Sport Fight Night double header takes place on Saturday with vacant British and Commonwealth titles at stake in the headliner.
Scottish hot prospect Willy Hutchinson (13-0, KO9) goes for his first belts as a professional, and he faces former challenger for the duo of titles, Lennox Clarke (19-1-1, KO7) in an interesting step up in class for the 22-year-old.
‘Braveheart’ Hutchinson has seemed to get better with every fight, and 2020 saw him post three wins, with the last two particularly impressive.
August saw him halt Ben Thomas inside a round, and October had Hutchinson displayed his speed and power to ruthlessly stop Jose Miguel Fandino, also inside a round.
The Ingle Gym trained talent is proving hard to match for, but Clarke should give him a much-needed test and elevation in level of opposition.
Clarke has mainly campaigned on small hall shows in Walsall and surrounding areas, but made a step up in class himself in his last contest, taking on Lerrone Richards for vacant British and Commonwealth crowns.
Clarke acquitted himself well, but came up short in his efforts, losing a split decision in Birmingham. That was back in November 2019, so Clarke could well be rusty when he steps in the ring to meet the red hot Scot this weekend.
Prediction: Hutchinson looks a special talent indeed, and the opportunity for him to claim his first belts as a pro may spur him on to put in a classy performance in this one.
Clarke gave a good account of himself last time out against Richards, but has had a long time away from the ring.
I expect Willy to make a fast start and unload his power punches, and eventually grind Clarke down for a stoppage win before halfway.
The undercard sees the continued rebuild of Nathan Gorman (17-1, KO11). The Nantwich Heavyweight suffered a heavy defeat in July 2019 against Daniel Dubois in a big domestic clash, and resurfaced in October 2020, winning every round of ten against Richard Lartey.
Gorman takes part in another ten rounder, as he meets former Czech champion, Pavel Sour (13-3, KO8). Sour is best known to UK fans for a March 2020 stoppage defeat to Hughie Fury, and he has also been halted inside a round by Filip Hrgovic. Gorman should be able to also score an inside schedule win, most probably within four rounds.
Louie Lynn (8-0, KO7) is a prospect to keep an eye on, and the Surrey Featherweight goes for his first professional title here. Lynn contests the vacant WBC International Silver belt over ten rounds against Spain’s Sebastian Perez (12-1-1, KO2).
Lynn has impressed thus far as a professional, and had a successful 2020, scoring three stoppage wins against Brayan Mairena (TKO3), Monty Ogilvie (TKO2) and Paul Holt (TKO7) to round off a good year.
Perez though could prove harder to shift, and he has been a twelve round distance on two previous occasions already. His sole defeat came in his last fight, losing a December 2019 decision in France for the EU title against Elie Konki.
Lynn may have to go the distance here, but should come through widely enough on the scorecards.
Another one to watch is Portsmouth’s Mark Chamberlain (7-0, KO4), and he takes on the tried and tested Jordan Ellison (11-31-2, KO1) over eight rounds.
2020 Saw Chamberlain in action twice, stopping Stu Greener inside a minute in July, and then dropping Shaun Cooper twice on the way to a ten round win.
Ellison has been stopped six times in his 31 defeats, and Chamberlain can add his name to that list with an early win.
Northampton Super Lightweight, Ethan James (4-0, KO0), is in six round action against Des Newton (8-18, KO2) who hadn’t previously been stopped, but has now been halted early in three of his last four outings.
James may still have to settle for a points win here though.
A pair of debutants see action on the bill in four round contests. Cruiserweight, Stephen Adentan is up against Hull based Lithuanian, Andrius Ruzas (1-2, KO0) and he should win early on, and at Super Bantamweight, Umar Khan should do likewise against Levi Dunn (0-3).
