FROCH DRAWS ALL-ENGLAND CLASH IN BETFAIR PRIZEFIGHTER INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHTS

Dallas and Little meet in final quarter-final – Sosnowski meets Harris in opener

Tom Dallas and Tom Little will clash in an all-English quarter-final at the Betfair International Heavyweights at the York Hall, Bethnal Green on June 20, live on Sky Sports HD1.

Three-time World super middleweight champion Carl Froch performed the draw at Sky Sports studios as the eight contenders for Wednesday nights action met for the first time at the promo shoot.

The Cobra picked Poland’s Albert Sosnowski out of the hat first and pitted the former World title challenger against American Maurice Harris. There’s a potential all-USA semi-final number one as Kevin ‘Kingpin’ Johnson meets Moroccan Noureddine Meddoune in quarter-final two.

Quarter-final three sees New Yorker Tor Hamer against Brazil’s Marcelo Luiz Nascimento with the winner facing the victor in the all-England clash in quarter-final four, a clash that Dallas is relishing.

“There will definitely be an Englishman in the semis and I am confident it will be me,” said Dallas. “It’s a shame in a way that it’s England v England but it adds a lot of spice to what is already a big night.”

Tickets for the Betfair Prizefighter International Heavyweights at York Hall, Bethnal Green on Wednesday June 20 are on sale now priced £40 (unreserved). Tickets are available from Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900 and at www.matchroomboxing.com

Ringside and VIP tickets have sold out.

BETFAIR PRIZEFIGHTER INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHTS DRAW:

Quarter-final 1: Albert Sosnowski v Maurice Harris

Quarter-final 2: Noureddine Meddoune v Kevin Johnson

Quarter-final 3: Tor Hamer v Marcelo Luiz Nascimento

Quarter-final 4: Tom Dallas v Tom Little

MCCLOSKEY AND FRAMPTON TO PERFORM BETFAIR PRIZEFIGHTER DRAW AT STORMONT

Dudey and the Jackal to decide all-Irish Middleweight contenders fate on Wednesday

Paul McCloskey and Carl Frampton will perform the draw for the all-Irish Betfair Prizefighter Middleweights at Stormont Parliament Buildings on Wednesday afternoon (May 2) ahead of the action live on Sky Sports from the King’s Hall on Saturday night (May 5).

The eight contenders will look on with great interest as Dudey and the Jackal match them up for the 24^th edition of Matchroom Sport’s eight man, one night tournament which precedes McCloskey taking on ‘Chop Chop’ DeMarcus Corley as the Dungiven star aims to get a second World title shot. Former British featherweight champ Martin Lindsay kicks off the night but Jamie Conlan has been forced to pull out of the show through illness.

Previous Prizefighter nights have seen the draw made live on Sky Sports in the ring, but now the fighters will know the route they have to take in advance, and Belfast man Joe Rea hopes his path leads to a final with fellow Belfast fighter Eamonn O’Kane, so he can exact revenge for defeat in their eight round cracker in the Odyssey Arena in September.

“Eamonn is a good fighter but I know 100 per cent that I have the beating of him so I do really hope for a rematch with him for the title,” said Rea. “I’d like to see him in the final. We’re both from the north so it’d be great for Irish boxing. I know Eamonn will sell a load of tickets and I know that I’ve sold a load of tickets so I think the Belfast public deserve that final.”

O’Kane and Rea are joined by former two-weight Irish champ Ciaran Healy, Irish super middleweight champion JJ McDonagh, former champ Anthony Fitzgerald, unbeaten Lurgan man Ryan Greene, ‘Slick Fightin’ Irish’ Simon O’Donnell and Roscommon’s Darren Cruise.

Tickets are available from Ticketmaster on: 0844 277 4455 (UK/Northern Ireland) or 0818 719 300 (Republic of Ireland) and at www.ticketmaster.ie

VIP packages priced £150 are available from Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900 and at www.matchroomboxing.com

SCOTTY CARDLE RELISHING SECOND BIG NIGHT OUT

Team GB star following Sheffield blockbuster with a Big Bang in Liverpool

Scotty Cardle laces the gloves up for his second pro outing on Friday night as the Team GB star fights on the undercard of Tony Bellew’s British light heavyweight title defence against Danny McIntosh, live on Sky Sports 1HD.

Cardle made his pro bow on the undercard of Kell Brook’s welterweight showdown with Matthew Hatton in Sheffield on March 17 with a shutout points win over Sid Razak, and the Blackpool fighter was given the star treatment by promoter Eddie Hearn and Sky Sports.

The show was a huge hit with fight fans on Sky Sports, notching the highest non-pay-per-view viewing figures for boxing for the broadcaster, and the 22 year old was able to soak up the atmosphere with a full walk-on in front of the huge Steel City turn-out.

“I remember being in the changing rooms and someone coming in and saying ‘you’ve got the ring-walk’, and I was thinking ‘you’ve got to be kidding, it’s only my debut, I haven’t done enough to get a ring-walk!’” said Cardle. “Just coming out from the lights, and the reception I got alone was amazing, I was overwhelmed by that. There was an electric atmosphere in the arena it must’ve been great to watch on TV, I’m not surprised it got such high numbers on Sky Sports.”

Cardle was hot property as he decided to turn over to the paid ranks, and decided to sign with Matchroom Sport and Hearn after meeting with promoters across the country – and it’s a decision he feels has paid off already, with his Sheffield and Liverpool appearances preceding a spot on the undercard of Carl Froch’s IBF World super middleweight title fight with Lucian Bute in Nottingham on May 26.

“I couldn’t really ask for much more than the three dates that Eddie Hearn has given me,” said Cardle. “I’m in the big-time already. It’s just great to be part of all these big nights and be on the undercard of such great fights already. Tony Bellew’s a great fighter and his fan base is fantastic so Friday night is going to be a great occasion – I’ve got a lot of people coming to cheer me on too and I cannot wait to get in there and experience it all over again.

“I thought my debut went really well. The nerves building up to it were electric, but they were good nerves, I used them well in the fight. Now I’m just chomping at the bit for my next fight. The good thing is that it went well, it was an impressive win I hope. I hope I turned a few heads in the arena and now it’s onto bigger and better things in my next one.

“I knew what I was in for with Sid Razak. Sid’s a survivor, a very durable fighter so I that’s what I was expecting and that’s what I got from him. He did say to me after the fight that he was shocked that he stayed with me, shocked that he lasted the four rounds. He told me I was very strong and that he was glad he survived it because he had a fight the next week. I felt that I did buckle him a few times, but he’s a very tough guy and he well to handle me for the full four rounds, so I’ll give credit where it’s due.

“I’ve been in the ring more than 100 times as an amateur but I did think it was a big difference fighting as a pro. There’s no head guards so you get a much wider view firstly, but then because of that you can’t really relax, you can’t really sleep on the other boxer because any shot can be vital, any shot can be dangerous. So you’ve got to keep switched on at all times, that’s what I learnt. Obviously I didn’t really get hit that much by Sid but there were I think two occasions where I got clocked and that’s the thing, you just can’t relax on a boxer. You’ve got to keep your head on the job and keep your concentration.”

TICKETS FOR ‘THE BIG BANG’ CAN STILL BE PURCHASED AT WWW.COLDWELLBOXING.COM AND WWW.MATCHROOMBOXING.COM

Tickets are priced at £30, £40, £60 and £80 with VIP tickets at £150.

MCCLOSKEY PUT ON RED ALERT FOR MARQUEZ FIGHT

Hearn says Corley win could spark JMM clash in July

Paul McCloskey’s May 5 clash with DeMarcus Corley live on Sky Sports has taken a new twist after he was named as a possible opponent for Juan Manuel Marquez’s July 14 fight in Texas.

The WBO interim light welterweight champion takes over Cowboys Stadium that night and the four-weight king has been linked with a fight with Dudey after his promoter suggested his preference for a southpaw opponent.

McCloskey faces the former WBO champ ‘Chop Chop’ Corley on May 5 at the King’s Hall in Belfast in a huge night for boxing for the city, with the all-Irish middleweight Betfair Prizefighter, Martin Lindsay and Jamie Conlan all in action, and now McCloskey’s promoter Eddie Hearn says the show has taken on even greater significance with the former unbeaten European champion in the running for a shot at the pound-for-pound Mexican great.

“Paul’s name has been mentioned by JMM’s team in the last week and I reached out to Top Rank yesterday to let them know that we’d love the fight,” said Hearn. “I think we are in with a decent chance but a convincing win against Corley in front of a packed King’s Hall crowd would strengthen our case for a July clash with Marquez.”

McCloskey added: “It’s an honour to be linked with a showdown with Juan Manuel and it’s a dream fight for me. May 5 has always been a pivotal night for me as I aim to get back into World title contention, and this news has made a huge occasion even bigger.”

Tickets priced at £30 (unreserved), £40 (reserved balcony or unreserved floor), £60 (outer-ringside) and £100 (ringside) are available from Ticketmaster on 0844 277 4455 – UK/Northern Ireland customers, 0818 719 300 – Republic of Ireland customers and at http://www.ticketmaster.ie/

VIP packages priced £150 are available from Matchroom Sport on 01277 359900 and at http://www.matchroomboxing.com/

Paul McCloskey’s fans can also buy their tickets at the prices above from Eurospar Dungiven and any EuroXchange outlet.

FRENCH ASSIGNMENT HOLDS NO FEAR FOR REES

Welshman out to prove he will fight anyone, anywhere

Gavin Rees is relishing defending his European lightweight title against Anthony Mezaache in Paris on Friday night live on Sky Sports 4 and HD4 from 9pm – and says victory will prove he is willing to fight anyone, anywhere.

The Welshman defends the belt for the second time against Mezaache, the Parisian fighter who won the belt on foreign soil himself in February 2009 when he beat Jon Thaxton in Norwich.

Rees enters Mezaache’s backyard aiming to kick his 2012 off with an impressive defence that could land him an exciting British fight against lightweight rivals Ricky Burns, Kevin Mitchell, John Murray and Anthony Crolla – and the 31 year-old says he’ll prove he can fight anywhere.

“Every boxer wants to fight at home but I don't mind going to France,” said Rees. “I don't think it'll be a hostile crowd but even if it is, it's only a crowd, they can't get in the ring and help him when he's in there with me at my best. I only have to worry about my performance, not his – if I do what I do best, I'll get the job done.

“I've seen a few clips of him from his fight against Thaxton. He beat him quite comfortably but I think that wasn't the best of Jon, he was on his way out. So I think that this is a job I am confident of doing.”

Rees’ first defence ended in a technical draw against Derry Mathews in October when a clash of heads left the Liverpool man with a broken nose. The champ has been itching to get back into the ring to show the benefits of his new attitude to training, which he attributes to trainer Gary Lockett and nutritionist Renzo Algieri.

“I've been a professional nearly 14 years and only lost one fight so I've done well, but I think I'm improving all the time,” said Rees. “I'm 32 in May and I'm feeling so good I could go on forever.

“I've got older and got wiser. When you are younger you think your career is going to go on forever. This is my last chance at World title glory really so everything has to be done 100 per cent right. I was eating the wrong foods, drinking water at the wrong times, and in the championship distance, like against Andy Murray, I died after four rounds. So we'd been tinkering with that before the Derry Mathews fight and we got it right.

That didn't go beyond four rounds so no-one got to see the difference, but it was a lot better then and it will be even better now.

“There are some big domestic fights out there for me with Burns, Mitchell, Crolla and (John) Murray and I want all of them. I've been training hard for Mezaache and once I've got past him I want to fight one of the big name Brits. I don't believe that I have been truly recognised for my achievements so hopefully beating one of those boys would get me there. I sparred with Ricky and we had some great sessions and I know it would be a crowd-pleaser.

“I'd like to have a go at Ricky or maybe I could win another one of the World titles and we could have a massive unification fight. We've got a great group of lightweights in Britain at the moment, maybe one of the strongest ever, so hopefully we can all fight each other soon.”

REES MEDIA WORKOUT:

BROOK’S WAR OF THE ROSES BREAKS AUDIENCE FIGURES RECORD

Kell’s Sheffield blockbuster is a massive hit on Sky Sports

Kell Brook's brilliant War of the Roses victory over Matthew Hatton was watched by record numbers on Sky Sports.

The welterweight star signalled his intention to shake up the welterweight scene at World level with a commanding points win over Hatton in the Mancunian’s 50th pro outing, and the top class evening of boxing from the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield gripped the living rooms of Britain as well as captivating the 10,000 packed into the Arena.

Carl Frampton defended his Commonwealth super bantamweight crown with a second round stoppage of Ghanaian Prosper Ankrah, while Kerry Hope wrestled the European middleweight title away from Greg Proksa in a gruelling 12 round battle live on Sky Sports before Brook’s masterclass.

“I was thrilled with the sell-out crowd so to hear about the TV figures is amazing,” said Brook, who moved his unbeaten record to 27-0. “A lot of people said I might not handle the pressure but I thrived on it and I hope that the next time I’m out we can create something even bigger.”

With the world at his feet, the 25 year-old hopes to return to Sheffield in the summer in another huge night for the Steel City, and his promoter Eddie Hearn will be keen to let ‘The Special One’ sample another big night in his hometown in a few months time.

“The figures we received from Sky Sports are just further proof that Kell really is Special,” said Hearn. “It was a fantastic night and all the fighters involved should be proud of the part they played entertaining a full house in Sheffield and hundreds of thousands of households in the UK. Nights like last Saturday are the future of British boxing and the figures prove that.”