Sussex boxing stable set for hectic period

Welch’s son, heavyweight prospect Tommy, is due to fight in Alicante, Spain, on Sunday July 25.

He will then travel to Belgium with stablemate and former Love Islander, super middleweight Idris Virgo, at the end of August to fight on the undercard of Joel Djeko.

The Belgian, who is training with Welch at his King Alfred Gym, will challenge for the WBC Silver belt in the newly-created bridger weight category, which comes between cruiser and heavyweight.

Brussels-born Djeko, 31, is due to take on veteran American Devin Vargas in the Belgian capital on August 29.

Welch hopes that a victory in this contest would put Djeko in line for a crack at the main WBC title, and that bouts on the night for Welch jnr and Virgo will help continue their boxing development.

Before that, another of Welch’s charges, Nick Webb, faces a mouth-watering contest against much-touted heavyweight prospect Fabio Wardley at the Matchroom Fight Camp in the grounds of the Matchroom headquarters, Essex, on August 7.

Fighting on the undercard of Kid Galahad versus Jazza Dickens, Webb will become one of the first domestic fighters to appear on DAZN since Matchroom CEO Eddie Hearn aligned himself with the global online platform after splitting with Sky Sports.

“Fighting in Eddie Hearn’s back garden is exciting stuff for us, and clearly great publicity for Matchroom. This is a huge fight for Nick, it’s for the English heavyweight title and a chance to put himself back in the mix,” Welch said.

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“A combination of a long period of injury and then the Covid pandemic has seen Nick’s career remain static, after the impressive win against Erik Pfeifer in Gibraltar on the Dillian Whyte PPV show, the Wardley fight is just what we wanted.”

“Wardley was a 6-bout white collar novice, but in the pro ranks he’s certainly learning his trade with 10 Ko’s from his 11 wins, but when facing Nick, who’s getting back to his best and is clearly a dangerous fighter, he moves up another level.”