Welterweight contender Sam Eggington will be locking horns with fellow Englishman Frankie Gavin. They will be headlining a Matchroom Boxing card on October 17th at the Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, the home city of both fighters.
Eggington (16-2, 9 KO) will be defending his British and Commonwealth straps, in hope of moving onto bigger fights beyond domestic and European level. Both men have been excelling at that level in recent times, but it’s only Gavin who has sampled the flavors of a world title bout. And one of them is certainly bitter.
Gavin (22-2, 13 KO) took on IBF title holder Kell Brook in May, and despite putting in a spirited performance, could not compete with the Sheffield boxer-puncher. Brook was too strong, too smart, and took care of business inside 6 rounds.
The card will also see local fighter Matthew Macklin taking on Jason Welborn in a Junior Middleweight contest.
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Overseas, Jorge Linares will be defending his WBC Lightweight title against Ivan Cano in his homeland of Venezuela. After spending so much of his career fighting abroad in places such as Japan, Linares will no doubt be pleased with the proximity of the fight.
Whichever way you look at it, this pairing does seem to have showcase written all over it. With Kevin Mitchell – whom Linares stopped in May – reluctant to fly out for a rematch, this is the apparent alternative. Not that we boxing fans are ever shocked by much these days.
Cano (23-6-2, 15 KO) just seems to lack the quality Linares (39-3, 26 KO) possesses. The Mexican fighter was stopped by Dierry Jean in 2012, clocked up two Draws against Javier Prieto in 2014, and most recently won a Unanimous Decision over John Carlo Aparicio in February. Linares, on the other hand, will enter the ring with eight consecutive victories behind him, six of which ended via knockout.
Is this a sure-fire win for Jorge Linares? And who will be victorious in the battle of Birmingham? Sam Eggington or Frankie Gavin?
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