Category: Boxing News

Ricky Summers is ready to take out his frustration on Saturday’s opponent writes James Eley.

The Tipton light heavyweight was devastated to see his fight for the British Light Heavyweight belt against Frank Buglioni called off last week as he was putting in his final preparations for the bout.

‘Digger’ had been training hard for what would have been the biggest fight of his career but, with just over a week until the contest, Buglioni pulled out through injury, leaving Summers to rue what could have been at the O2 Arena, London, on the David Haye v Tony Bellew undercard.

That fight will happen in the coming months and, having not fought since November, Summers will now look to punch out his frustrations on Errol Johnson’s ‘No Guts, No Glory’ show at Walsall Town Hall, Walsall, on Saturday 4th March, on the same night he was supposed to face ‘Wise Guy’. Summers takes on tough Lithuanian, Remigijus Ziausys, over six rounds as he looks to keep busy before getting his shot with Buglioni later this year.

“It’s frustrating but that’s boxing,” Summers told bcb-promotions.com. “I have spoken with Errol and the fight is still on, but it is postponed because he has been injured in sparring. It is a massive blow because I had a 4-5 week camp for the fight and I put everything in to it. I was training three times a day and I have been out in Marbella and I haven’t been with my family in these last few weeks which has all been for nothing really.

“It is very frustrating. I have been told he has been cut but I haven’t seen any pictures of that so I don’t know if he has or not. I wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully the fight will go ahead in the future as it has been promised to me. It is more frustrating that he is injured and not myself because I have put up with little niggles throughout training and stuff. I don’t know what has happened with Frank, whether it is a genuine cut or if he hasn’t prepared properly for me and he wants more time or what.

“I have dieted and put more graft in than ever. I took myself away from my family, I haven’t really seen my two little boys and my Mrs for four weeks because I wanted to give myself the best chance possible of winning the British. Even though people were saying I was an underdog, I strongly believe I would have beat Buglioni.

“I am in a keep busy fight now which is something I need because I haven’t boxed since November. It is hard for my manager Errol because he has had a week to get a tough game opponent in but he has managed to come up with somebody who has fought at Heavyweight and Cruiserweight and he has only been stopped twice so hopefully I will get the rounds in with him. He has had something like 80 fights and he has gone the distance with Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora, people of that stature, so he should be a game fighter. I am not looking past him because I am a light-heavyweight and he will be much heavier than me but I feel like I am a level above and you should see that on the night. The plan is to get the rounds in now in this one and take the Buglioni fight when he recovers.”

Summers admitted it will be tough to regain his focus in this fight as his mind is still on what he could have achieved in the capital. However the 29-year-old knows he will have to concentrate as he will be in with an opponent much heavier than himself. He also gave credit to his fans and sponsors who have bought tickets for the fight in London and he is keen to put on a performance for those who will turn out at the Town Hall.

“More than anything I want the rounds,” he added. “I want to blow this frustration out and let it all out on the night. I feel a bit deflated with everything that has happened and I will have to be careful that it doesn’t affect my performance. I rise up to the occasion. As an amateur I had 63 fights and won 50. But when I used to box the top lads I used to beat them well, when I boxed the average lads I would still beat them but I would drop down to their level. I have always risen to the occasion right through my career but I am still expecting to put a good performance in.

“In an ideal world I would have liked a better opponent than this lad. But with the time-frame it isn’t easy to get people in. But I will be giving a bit of weight away in this fight. This guy struggles to make light heavy whereas I am down at the weight. I have been told he is going to be coming in at 13 stone the day before, so coming into the ring he will probably be around 14 stone so I will be giving nearly a stone away in weight on the night. But that is good for me because he will be tough and it will make it a challenge.

“I want to give a big shout out to my sponsors Nige Portor, JJX logistics, Cable and Alloys, Carlo Amendolaand a massive thank you to the people who are still coming out to support me. A lot of friends and family have had tickets for the Haye v Bellew fight expecting me to be on there, one of my sponsors spent thousands of pounds on tickets and I am not going to be there now. I feel sorry for them but it is completely out of my hands. I’ll make it up to them by getting a good win Saturday and preparing right for the Buglioni fight.”

“T´boli Thunder 2”, Light Flyweights Clash For WBF Title

Philippines national Strawweight Champion Ronie “Ultimate Warrior” Tanallon will step up a division on Sunday March 12 to fight for the vacant World Boxing Federation (WBF) Asia Pacific Light Flyweight title against fellow countryman Arnold Garde.

The pair will clash at the T´boli Covered Court in the municipality of T´boli in the Philippines South Cotabato province, headlining a show billed as “T´boli Thunder 2”. Promoted by Sanman Promotions, the event is supported by the T´boli municipal government.

Now twenty-three years old, Southpaw Tanallon became Philippines national champion in October of 2015, and has since made one defence of the title. Coming off a non-title fight victory last December, his current professional record stands at 10-3-1 (2).

Arnold Garde (26) turned pro in August of 2011, and won his first three bouts. He then hit a rough patch with two draws and three losses in a row, before finding his way and winning four straight, including a fight for the Philippines Mindanao Professional Boxing Federation title.

In his most recent outing, Garde came up short against former WBA World Champion Randy Petalcorin for the IBF Pan Pacific title, losing on points after ten hard rounds. Despite a mediocre record of 7-4-2 (3), he proved in that encounter that he can compete at a very high level.

With a stacked undercard warming the fans up for the evenly-matched main event, the promoters are expecting an explosive night of boxing in T´boli. Tanallon and Garde are both known to have exiting styles, so an action-packed fight is almost guaranteed.

Ijaz Ahmed has promised to show his aggressive side in his second professional contest on BCB Promotions’ ‘No Guts, No Glory’ show at Walsall Town Hall on Saturday 4th March writes James Eley.

The 23-year-old was reserved on his debut victory against Craig Derbyshire in November but this time he is eager to show his knock-out ability.

“I want to be an aggressive fighter that comes forward,” he told bcb-promotions.com. “Coming in with those hooks and rolls; that is what I am about. Hopefully I can show that in this fight and be more like myself.

“I think every fight is like a title fight. You have to nail down and train hard for every fight you have. I want to impress in this next fight because with the debut I was careful and holding back. I took the first round to suss out what he was about and he was loading up on his shots so I relaxed and boxed him and beat him comfortably. But we are working on a few things in the gym and hopefully the next performance will be a lot more aggressive from me and I can go out with real intent.”

Ahmed is desperate to impress at the Town Hall so that he can secure sponsorship to help him in his professional endeavours and he has vowed to give all those in attendance a spectacle when he steps into the ring.

“I am looking for sponsors to help me on my journey,” he explained. “I want to make sure that I send a message to people in this next fight and show them that this guy means business. I want to show everyone what I am about and I want people to leave and think ‘that guy is good’. The performance is key in this next fight.

“I don’t know who my opponent is yet. With these first few professional ones you never know until like a week before who it is going to be. As you go up higher you know before you even have the date. It doesn’t matter to me because anyone who comes in front of me, my goal is to beat them anyway necessary. I don’t mind travelling to Walsall. It is only a short trip up there this time but I have no problems with travelling either. It is just about getting in there now wherever the fight is, I am raring to go.

“I was doing 3×3’s in the amateurs because it is at elite level. So it is not really too bad stepping up one more round in the pro game. But there is a lot more going on in professional fights and you have to be aware of everything in the ring. Training is more intense since I turned professional and you can see that in my performances now. But I am fine doing the four rounds and I feel comfortable with it. I have always been told that my style is more like a professional style so I haven’t really felt the switch difficult at all, it has just come natural to me so far.”

‘Wise Guy’ defends British title against Summers on Haye-Bellew bill

Frank Buglioni has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing and will defend his British Light-Heavyweight title against Ricky Summers at The O2 in London on March 4, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Buglioni ripped the crown from Hosea Burton in an epic clash in Manchester in December, stopping the local favourite in the last round of a gruelling fight of the year contender.

The former Super-Middleweight World title challenger makes the first defence of his crown against the unbeaten Tipton man Summers, and for ‘Wise Guy’ his aims are clear as he prepares for his first fight with new promoter Eddie Hearn: claim the coveted Lord Lonsdale belt outright before targeting World honours again.

‘I wanted to get the British title and prove to myself and the fans that I was championship material and could put on a performance,’ said Buglioni. “’I was very impressed with the whole set up for the Burton fight with Sky Sports, the build-up was great and as soon as the offer came from Eddie I jumped at it as Matchroom and Sky Sports are putting on great shows all year round, this is the platform to be on.

‘I’ve worked hard to get the British title and I want to win it outright, I don’t think that it’s been done for over 25 years in my division, so I really want to achieve that. I’m looking to get this one out of the way and look for two more defences to make that happen.

‘There’s no such thing as an easy British title defence as anyone that fights for the title is going to give it everything they’ve got. It’s one of the best belts out there and it means so much to win it – Hosea and I proved back in December just how much fighters give in order to land it. The immediate aim is to get the LL belt for keeps but of course, if European or World title shots present themselves, that’s something the team will consider and look at the options.

‘I’m thrilled to be on the card, the main event is one that I’m really looking forward to. I rate Tony Bellew a lot, he’s improved massively throughout his career, he was told he wasn’t British, European or World level and he’s proved all the doubters wrong. David’s got the experience and he’s a massive puncher, so it’s going to be explosive.”

‘I’m delighted to welcome Frank to the team in an exciting time for the British and World Light-Heavyweight division,’ said Hearn. ‘Frank is one of the most popular fighters in London and has a real TV and fan friendly style that we of course saw in the Hosea Burton fight in December in Manchester.

‘I’m very happy to have him in the stable and part of a huge show at The O2 next week and look forward to being involved in big fights and nights with him moving forward.’

Burton and Summers meet on a huge night at The O2 as David Haye and Tony Bellew meet in a blockbusting Heavyweight grudge match.

There’s more London vs. Liverpool rivalry on the menu as Hackney’s Ohara Davies defends his WBC Silver Super-Lightweight title against Merseyside favourite Derry Mathews.

Stourbridge banger Sam Eggington faces the biggest night of his career against former two-weight World champion Paulie Malignaggi, while Irish amateur star Katie Taylor boxes for the third time in the pros.

Londoner replaces injured Yates in Hull on Saturday

Rakeem Noble is gunning for the biggest scalp of his blossoming career as he takes on hometown favourite Tommy Coyle at the Hull Arena on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.

Noble had a great year in 2016, landing the Southern Area Super-Lightweight title in March with a clinical fourth round KO win over Sohail Ahmed before defending the crown in October with a comfortable points win over previously unbeaten Kay Prospere.

The win over Prospere was Noble’s tenth from 11 fights, all of which have been at York Hall in Bethnal Green, east London since his debut in September 2013. The Londoner steps outside the capital for the first time against Hull star Coyle, who is back in the ring after giving British champion Tyrone Nurse a real scare in July when he floored the title holder in the seventh round.

Noble travels north for his biggest fight so far, and the 27 year old wants to claim a prize scalp live on Sky Sports to kick his career on to the next level.

‘It will be a great fight,’ said Noble, who replaces the injured Kofi Yates in the fight. ‘We are both at a career crossroads; I am looking to make the step up and he is looking to step back up to the position he has been at before. So we will see who progresses and who falls back; it will be an entertaining fight. If I beat Tommy Coyle that opens so many doors and it would put me into the top ten.

‘He is a come forward fighter who will be on the attack and will be looking to take me out so I will have to beat him to it.

‘I have won the Southern Area title and defended it so I have proved I am at that level and now I am looking for a step up. Tommy has proved himself as a very good British level fighter and he is who is next for me in my career.

‘In both Southern Area title fights I went into it as the underdog and in both fights I came out as a convincing winner – the first was a fourth-round knockout and the second was a good points decision, so I went in there and proved people wrong.

‘I have been the underdog so many times in my boxing career that it makes no difference to me now, it is just part of the game. That is why when I got the call to fight Tommy Coyle in his hometown, it didn’t bother me. It isn’t the first time I am taking an away fight and it probably won’t be the last time.”

Noble’s clash with Coyle is part of a huge night of action in Hull as Gavin McDonnell aims to join his twin Jamie as a World champion when he takes on Rey Vargas for the WBC World Super-Bantamweight title and hometown star Luke Campbell MBE defends his WBC Silver Lightweight title against Mexican Jairo Lopez.

Unbeaten Belfast talent Ryan Burnett tastes his first action of 2017, Doncaster Heavyweight Dave Allen kicks off 2017 having taken on Luis Ortiz in his last outing and Scunthorpe’s unbeaten Light-Heavyweight prospect Dec Spelman looks to add to his 10-0 record and local boys Carl Chadwick and Conor Seymour feature.