Unbeaten English flyweight champion Ashley Sexton will appear on the undercard of Darren Barker’s European Middleweight title fight against Domenico Spada at London Olympia on April 30.
The 23 year-old stretched his unblemished record to 11 fights on Saturday with a unanimous points victory over Salim Salimov at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany, the tenth win of his career so far.
Sexton’s opponent on the Barker show has yet to be confirmed but the Hertfordshire fighter is keen to put on a good show live on Sky Sports as he aims for another British title shot after a draw with Shinny Bayaar in his last attempt at the belt last May.
“I’m really excited to be boxing on a Matchroom show,” said Sexton. “The atmosphere at their shows is always great and with me being on the undercard to such a great fight the atmosphere is going to be electric! I used to train with Darren back in the amateurs so it’ll be like old times.”
“Flash Ash” turned pro in August 2008 and won four of his first eight fights inside the distance before his first title challenge in his ninth outing. He faced Usman Ahmed for the vacant English belt in Brentwood in January 2010 and claimed his first major title with a devastating first round knockout.
Sexton followed this victory with a challenge to Bayaar’s British title but the judges couldn’t separate the pair after a bloody battle in Dagenham.
Unbeaten Londoner Barker is aiming to reclaim the vacant European strap against the tough Italian, the belt he had to vacate when injury forced him to withdraw from a defence against Matthew Macklin in September.
Tickets for Darren Barker v Domenico Spada on April 30 are available now from Matchroom Sport priced £35 unreserved, £60 ringside, £80 inner ringside and £120 VIP – to buy call Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900.
Graham Earl Announces Double Title London Show Set For May 7th
Earlier this year former World Champ, turned promoter, Graham Earl returned to his old stomping ground, York Hall in Bethnal Green, for his inaugural London show. On the 7th May Graham again returns to York Hall with his double title headlined ‘Redemption Day’ event.
Speaking earlier today Graham said, “It’s going to be a cracking fight, a cracking show. We’ve got two Southern Area title fights on it.
We’ve got Leon Williams on it defending his Southern Area title against Danny Couzens and we also have Paul Morby in a rematch against Daniel Cadman, the last one ended in a draw.
We’ve also got on the undercard Terry Holmes, having his third professional fight.
TKO Boxing Gym’s Sam Standing and our new Belfast based signing Mark Ginley will be having their pro-debuts.
Another of our new signings, Michael Grant, will be having his first fight under the Graham Earl promotions banner.
The Belfast Banger, Joe Hillerby , will also be on the show as well as our Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Oshunrinde.
I’m also hoping to be debuting a new heavyweight on the show, should know for sure in a day or so.
It’s looking to be a great show with two cracking title fights and a brilliant undercard, so anyone looking to get tickets should go to the TKO Box Office.”
Tickets for the Graham Earl Promoted ‘Redemption Day’ event at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 7th May 2011 are now on sale and priced £35 (Unreserved) or £50 (Ringside).
For tickets call: 07960 850645, book on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or call in person at The TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA.
Margules Congratulates Wlodarczyk for Successful Defense
The American promoter of World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiserweight champion Krzysztof “Diablo” Wlodarczyk is congratulating his fighter for retaining his title by 12-round split decision over Francisco “The Wizard” Palacios.
Fighting in the main event Saturday night at the Hala Luczniczka in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Wlodarczyk (45-2-1, 32 KOs) was able to defeat the #1 rated and previously undefeated Palacios (20-1, 13 KOs) by scores of 118-112 and 116-113 Wlodarczyk over-ruling a 115-113 Palacios tally.
“It took a true champion to execute a game plan perfectly and beat back the challenge of a very skilled fighter,” said Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing. “There were over 8,000 fans here tonight watching Krzysztof put on a masterful performance.”
Puerto Rico’s Palacios had his moments in the fight but, in the end, didn’t do enough to “take” the title.
“When you’re in with a kid like Krzysztof who can hit like a mule, you either go out on your shield or choose to play it safe and lose by decision. That’s the choice Palacios made tonight,” continued Margules. “He fought well in certain spots, but fought much too cautiously. Krzysztof’s punches were harder and more accurate throughout and he came on strong at the end.”
The victory over Palacios was Wlodarczyk’s second successful defense. He also formerly held the IBF title by defeating American Steve Cunningham.