Following on from the Shabaz Masoud-Lee McGregor doubleheader in February, MTK Global will stage another fight night at York Hall this Friday 15th of April headlined by Gwynne vs Willis and free to watch on IFL TV. The Card features 3 domestic titles and an international title across three fights as well as some of the best prospects in British boxing and should deliver another action-packed Friday night of fights.
In the main event, Commonwealth Champion Wales’ Gavin Gwynne (14-2) faces undefeated Liverpool prospect Luke Willis (11-0) for Gwynne’s Commonwealth and the vacant British Lightweight Championship. This title was recently relinquished by IBO Champion Maxi Hughes.
Gwynne upset Sean McComb last year on an MTK Show by outlasting him and proving his toughness and carried on that momentum with a dominant title defence against Jack O’Keeffe in his native Wales. Luke Willis, a sharp southpaw boxer, easily outpointed Norwich’s Rylan Charlton last October in Liverpool, although the judges had it much closer than the general public.
Gwynne vs Willis is a matchup of pressure fighter vs boxer, a matchup that they’ve both been successful within the last 12 months. Gwynne has been in with a higher level of competition such as Joe Cordina who challenges for the world title in June and Belfast puncher James Tennyson. Willis is not as experienced and has only gone past 6 rounds on one occasion.
Gwynne vs Willis Undercard
On Co-Main Event is another 50-50 domestic title clash. Sam Gilley (13-1) defends his English Super Welterweight title against 12-0 Drew Brown. The Champion Gilley is looking to push on to a British title shot (currently held by Troy Williamson) and a win here could push him towards a mandatory position. Gilley was in a similar position last year where he lost a 50-50 domestic fight to Danny Ball who went on to challenge for the British and Commonwealth welterweight titles.
Also on the Gwynne vs Willis card is the top Kazakh amateur and unbeaten southpaw Sultan Zaurbek (12-0). Zaurbek, the 2014 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships silver medalist, defends his WBO European Super Feather Title against 17-1 Haithem Laamouz. Laamouz, the former European Union Super Feather champion, has not fought in 18 months since he claimed the title but if inactivity has not affected him it should be a good test for Zaurbek.
To Complete the Gwynne vs Willis matched fights, 1-0 prospect Nina Hughes faces journeywoman Bec Connolly (3-12). Additionally, prospects Pierce O’Leary (8-0), Jimmy Croxson (debut), Carl Fail (5-0), Elliot Whale (5-0), Dean Richardson (12-0) and Paul Ryan (3-0) all return to action. The pick of the bunch here is Fail who has been very impressive thus far and Richardson who is a former southern area champion closing in on bigger title fights.
By Darshan Desai and Freddie Firman
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