19:00 LIVE ON SKY SPORTS ARENA
19:07 RING WALK 10 x 3 mins English Middleweight Title
LINUS UDOFIA 11st 2lbs 5oz v JOHN HARDING JR 11st 2lbs 2oz
Followed by 4 x 3 mins Super-Middleweight contest
JOHN HEDGES 11st 13lbs 5oz v JAN ARDON 11st 11lbs 0oz
followed by 8 x 3 mins Super-Featherweight contest
AQIB FIAZ 9st 5lbs 3oz v KANE BAKER 9st 4lbs 13oz
followed by 8 x 3 mins Heavyweight contest
ALEN BABIC 14st 3lbs 4oz v NIALL KENNEDY 15st 9lbs 8oz
followed by 21:30 LIVE ON SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT
10 x 2 mins vacant WBC Super-Lightweight World Title
CHANTELLE CAMERON 9st 11lbs 11oz v ADRIANA ARAUJO 10st 5lbs 11oz
followed by 12 x 3 mins WBA International Light-Heavyweight Title
JOSHUA BUATSI 12st 4lbs 5oz v MARKO CALIC 12st 4lbs 12oz
Rising Light-Heavyweight star Joshua Buatsi will make his long-awaited return to the ring on Sunday, October 4, as he defends his WBA International Title against undefeated Croat Marko Calic, live on Sky Sports and DAZN.
Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Buatsi (12-0, 10 KOs) has firmly established himself as one of the most exciting talents in boxing, having scored a series of eye-catching stoppage wins since turning pro in 2017, with many in the sport touting him as a future World Champion.
The 27-year-old from Croydon hasn’t fought since he knocked out Canada’s Ryan Ford in seven rounds at The O2 in August last year. He will be aiming to relieve his itchy knuckles before targeting some of the more prominent names in the red hot 175lbs division, including former World Title challenger Callum Johnson.
Calic (11-0, 6 KOs) enjoyed a successful spell in the amateur code, beating his fellow countryman Alen Babic twice, as well as highly rated Welshman Kody Davies, before joining the professional ranks in September 2016, where he is undefeated in eleven fights.
Chantelle Cameron (12-0, 7 KOs) lands a World Title shot in her very first fight as a Matchroom fighter as she takes on Brazil’s Adriana Dos Santos Araujo (6-0, 1 KO). The two will be fighting for the vacant WBC Super-Lightweight crown previously held by Undisputed Welterweight ruler Jessica McCaskill.
Fresh from his emphatic two-round destruction of Shawndell Winters on the final weekend of Fight Camp, ‘The Savage’ Alen Babic (4-0, 4 KOs) returns to the UK looking to impress again as he locks horns with Irishman Niall Kennedy (13-1-1, 8 KOs) in an eight-round Heavyweight contest.
Aqib Fiaz (5-0) and Kane Baker (13-6) look to settle the score after their Fight Camp disappointment. Luton’s Linus Udofia (15-0, 7 KOs) puts his English Middleweight Title on the line for the first time against Dillian Whyte-backed Brixton man John Harding Jr (8-1-1, 2 KOs). The recent Matchroom signing John Hedges make his pro debut at Super-Middleweight.
“I’m excited to have a fight date confirmed,” said Buatsi. “I haven’t boxed in over a year, so this has been a long time coming. I’m looking forward to going through the whole process of arriving at the venue, warming up, walking out, and performing under those bright lights again.
“It has been tough adjusting my training while waiting for a fight date. It’s the first time it has happened to me as a professional to this extent, so it’s been an exciting period, but you have to get on with it.
“Marko Calic is a solid opponent who will be coming to win. He’s very experienced in the amateur scene and was around on the circuit years before me. As always, I’m planning on impressing with my performance. Winning is everything. I want to get two fights in this year, starting with a win against Calic.”
“I’m so excited to get this fight,” said Cameron on her World Title opportunity. “It has been a long time coming, and I’m ecstatic that the fight has been made and we’ve got a date set. I can remember watching Adriana Dos Santos Araujo when we were both amateurs and thinking that she was tough. She has beat some good names and has a good pedigree, so I’m expecting a tough ten rounds and can see it being a bit of a war.
“It would mean the world to me to call myself World Champion. The WBC belt is a major World Title, and it would be a dream come true, so fingers crossed I win this, and then the journey will continue where I go for the other belts and look to unify the division.”
CALIC: I WILL PROVE MYSELF ON THE BIG STAGE
Undefeated Croat vows to “fight fire with fire”
Marko Calic says he will prove himself on the big stage when he takes on rising Light-Heavyweight star Joshua Buatsi for the WBA International Title on Sunday October 4, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.
Calic (11-0, 6 KOs) enjoyed a successful spell in the amateur code, beating his fellow Croat Alen Babic twice as a Heavyweight, as well as highly rated Welshman Kody Davies. Standing at 6′ 3″, the 33-year-old represented his country in the World Series of Boxing, regularly weighing in at 200lbs.
He made the decision to turn pro in 2016 after losing in an Olympic Qualification Final in Venezuela, with the dream of becoming a World Champion at 175lbs. An experienced, elite amateur and now currently unbeaten as a professional, Calic is determined to become the first man to beat Buatsi in the pros.
“I have known Joshua Buatsi since my days in the amateurs,” said Calic. “I have followed his professional career since he switched from the amateurs after the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. He is a strong fighter and has a good boxing IQ. He is a good technician, but I also believe in my boxing ability and I will be ready on October 4.
“As an amateur I was fighting at 91kg in the Heavyweight category, so our paths never crossed in the ring. When I was in the European Championships in Samokov in 2015, I think he won a bronze medal, so yes I know him pretty well. I’ve watched him progress in the professional ranks and he is a good fighter, so I will be well prepared.
“Beating Buatsi would be huge for my career. It would make me well known in the boxing community and open a lot of doors for me. Eddie Hearn is the best boxing promoter in the world right now and his events get a lot of attention. I will prove myself on the big stage. This win will mean a lot for me.
“I expect that Buatsi will come forward and take the fight to me. I will try to counterpunch him, but I will also be ready to fight fire with fire. My main focus is to do my best. One of my main strengths is that I am taller than most of my opponents. I am also a very good technical boxer with a high boxing IQ.”
Buatsi vs. Calic tops a big night of action that sees Chantelle Cameron (12-0, 7 KOs) land a World Title shot in her very first bout as a Matchroom fighter as she takes on Brazil’s Adriana Dos Santos Araujo (6-0, 1 KO) for the vacant WBC Super-Lightweight crown, ‘The Savage’ Alen Babic (4-0, 4 KOs) returns to the UK looking to impress again as he locks horns with Irishman Niall Kennedy (13-1-1, 8 KOs) in an eight round Heavyweight contest, Luton’s Linus Udofia (15-0, 7 KOs) puts his English Middleweight Title on the line for the first time against Dillian Whyte-backed Brixton man John Harding Jr (8-1-1, 2 KOs), Aqib Fiaz (5-0) and Kane Baker (13-6) look to settle the score after their Fight Camp disappointment and recent Matchroom signing John Hedges make his pro debut at Super-Middleweight.
