Sheffield, England – 7 October 2023 – Promoter Izzy Asif, CEO of GBM Sports, set the bar high with his Clash On The Court event for the grand opening of the brand new Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield last night.

Asif promised that his sixth Championship Boxing event would be his biggest and best to date and he delivered a spectacular night of action and entertainment in the inaugural event at the stunning arena.

Boxing royalty and stars were in attendance at ringside, including reigning World Champions Ebanie Bridges and Sunny Edwards, Former Two-Weight World Champion Billy Joe Saunders, Sheffield icon Johnny Nelson and MC David Diamante.

Despite the early disappointment of the Reece Mould-Martin McDonagh title fight falling through, it didn’t dissuade the fans’ turning out in their droves to pack out the arena and create an electric atmosphere as they stayed to watch all the fight action.

In the main event, Commonwealth Super-Flyweight Champion Emma Dolan, from Newark, successfully defended her title in a pulsating, all-action, fight against the tough and game Worksop challenger Nicola Hopewell to win by wide margins on all three judges’ scorecards.

Red-hot GBM Sports’ Sheffield talents Faraqat ‘Frak’ Ali, Nohman Hussain, Naphtali Nembhard and Conisbrough Joe Hayden, all signed to and guided by Asif, showcased their skill and extended their winning records to highlight themselves as exciting future stars of the company.

Super-featherweight ace Ali took his record to 8-0 by winning every round against Mexican Christian Lopez Flores and is knocking on the door for his first title fight in the near future.

Welterweight prospect Hayden took his record to 11-0 with a four rounds points victory over MJ Hall.

A real star in the making, super-featherweight Hussain erupted the arena with a first round stoppage of Caine Singh.  That was the third stoppage for ‘Stormin Nohman’ in four fights as he continues on his road towards a first title challenge.

In his pro debut, flash middleweight Nembhard, who previously played for the Sheffield Sharks, made a seamless transition from basketball to boxing with a shut-out points victory over hard Russian Vasif Mamedov to show he means business in his new career.

Boxing in Yorkshire and Sheffield in particular is seeing a strong resurgence thanks to GBM Sports’ events in the region and the talented prospects under its banner.

An exciting new name will soon feature alongside Ali, Hussain and Nembhard in the six-time national champion MyKyle Ahmed who was unveiled as its latest star signing.  Ahmed will be jointly-managed by Asif and Billy Joe Saunders who both have extremely high hopes for the precocious talent and he will make his pro debut on a GBM Sports card very soon.

Further Sheffield fight favourites featured on the card with Liam Cameron, Red Johnson and Sam O’maison all in action.

Making an incredible return to the ring after 5 years out following a ban for failing a post fight drugs test and overcoming personal issues and a family tragedy, former Commonwealth Middleweight Champion Cameron defeated Robbie Connor on points over six rounds.

Brash light-heavyweight Johnson put on a show for his fans as he won every round against Ben Thomas as he took his record to unbeaten in four fights.

Former English Super-Lightweight Champion O’maison got back in the winning column with a four round points victory over Jake Smith and looks to return into the title mix again.

Worksop welterweight Declan Cairns completed the card who defeated Rustem Fatkhullin on points over four rounds.

Asif was delighted with his centre piece event and promises that this is still early days for GBM Sports and the best is yet to come.

He said, “We’re just getting better and better with each event and look how far GBM Sports has come in a very short space of time.  We’ve completed our first arena event with a first class production and we’ve got so much more to come, we’ve still really only just started.  Sadly we lost Reece Mould v Martin McDonagh earlier in the morning, but what a great fight it was between Emma and Nicola who both really stepped up to make it top of the bill.  Nicole showed real grit and skill and will come again, but Emma is a quality fighter.  We had a fantastic undercard with Naphtali starting his pro boxing career with a victory in his pro debut, Frak getting another win and then Nohman’s explosive finish to his fight.  Congratulations to all the lads’ on their wins, Liam, Red, Sam, Declan and Joe and I look forward to getting them back on soon.  To further add to the depth and quality of the GBM Sports stable and Sheffield boxing, I’m thrilled to have signed MyKyle Ahmed with Billy Joe and he’s going to be a real star in the future.  As the famous saying goes, You haven’t seen nothing yet!”

Sheffield, England – 31 August 2023 – GBM Sports promoter Izzy Asif is delighted to announce that Reece Mould’s WBA Continental Lightweight Championship title defence against Martin McDonagh will be the inaugural event at the brand new Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield on Friday 6th October.

Doncaster star Mould headlines the double-title event billed as the Clash On The Court that also features a fiery Commonwealth Super-Flyweight Championship showdown between rivals Emma Dolan and Nicola Hopewell, Sheffield talents Naphtali Nembhard and Nohmaan Hussain, and many more.

Based at the heart of the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, the Canon Medical Arena is the UK’s first carbon-neutral build community arena with multi-purpose sports facility and integrated Medical Diagnostics Centre to improve health and wellbeing in South Yorkshire.

The new built arena will offer a flexible sporting facility, featuring three full-size basketball courts, and designed to hold 2500 spectators. It will be the new home for the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks and the B. Braun Sheffield Hatters (women) professional basketball teams and the arena will be available to wider sporting, education, and community organisations.

In the first ever event to be staged at the Canon Medical Arena, all-action Mould (18-1-0, 6 KO’s) makes the first defence of his WBA Continental Title when he collides with hard domestic rival McDonagh (12-2-0, 1 KO) from Sheerness, Kent.  The exciting all-British clash puts everything on the line and the winner move a step closer to World title honours. 

Chief support on the card sees a big East Midlands derby clash between fierce rivals Emma Dolan (5-0-0, 1 KO) and Nicola ‘Hurricane’ Hopewell (3-0-0, 1 KO).  Dolan from Newark makes the first defence of the Commonwealth Super-Flyweight Championship against Worksop’s unbeaten Hopewell with plenty of pride and ‘bragging rights’ at stake.

On the undercard former star Sheffield Sharks small forward Naphtali Nembhard transitions from basketball to make his professional boxing debut in the middleweight division.

Undefeated Sheffield bantamweight prospect Nohmaan Hussain (3-0-0), who also works as an NHS cardiac intensive care practitioner, aims to continue his winning record.

Further top talents from Sheffield also appear, including: cruiserweight Sheldon McDonald (6-1-0, 2 KO’s), super-featherweight Faraqat Ali (7-0-0), welterweight Bree Burbeary (3-0-0, 1 KO) and super-middleweight Red Johnson (3-0-0)

Completing the card will be the latest protege under top trainer Ben Davison the unbeaten Oldham Bantamweight Will Cawley (3-0-0, 1 KO) plus, Conisborough welterweight Joe Hayden (10-0-0) and Worksop welterweight Declan Cairns (6-1-0, 1 KO).

With five highly successful and sold-out shows staged under the GMB Sports banner, Asif believes that this will be his most impressive and stunning event to date and fitting to open the new arena with.

Asif, CEO of GBM Sports, said, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be the first promoter to stage an event in the fantastic new Canon Medical Arena and I’m counting down the days until we can open the doors of this incredible new venue for Sheffield.  Not only is it a major boost for the city but also for boxing in the UK with another great venue to showcase our sport.  This is a major statement of intent for GBM Sports in our short history as we continue to break new ground and grow our business.  We look forward to staging regular top class shows here with even bigger and better to come.  I’d like to thank Yuri Matischen, Mazher Iqbal and MP Richard Caborn for all their hard work in helping to put this tremendous deal together.”

Yuri Matischen, Managing Director of the Canon Medical Arena, said, “We look forward to welcoming GBM Sports as our first ever boxing event in the Canon Medical Arena.  One of the main reasons we built this venue was to be able to offer a venue of this size to local sporting hubs as an outlet and means by which to showcase. Boxing is such a popular, and important sport here in South Yorkshire and is ingrained into the local culture, we are excited to be able to put it on display here in Sheffield.”

Sheffield, England – 7 August 2023 – GBM Sports is delighted to announce that the all-action Doncaster boxing star Reece Mould will make the first defence of his WBA Continental Lightweight Championship on Friday 6th October in Sheffield.

Mould will headlines a double-title show that also features a fiery Commonwealth Super-Flyweight Championship showdown between rivals Emma Dolan and Nicola Hopewell, rising prospects Naphtali Nembhard, Adam Mohammed, Will Cawley and Nohmaan Hussain, with even more talent to be added show.

The venue for the show will be announced shortly. 

Bringing excitement every time he fights, Mould inflicted the first defeat to Bradford rival Hamed Ghaz in a pulsating fight in February this year.  Mould wobbled Ghaz twice in the second round and almost stopped him, but Ghaz recovered and fought back hard to take the fight to the judges’ scorecards.  Mould’s work-rate and better punch output saw him win on all three cards to claim not only the WBA Continental belt, but also the Vacant English title.

He was last in action June against against Christian Lopez Flores in a gritty fight that saw Mould floor Flores in the fourth round and receive a count but the hard Mexican got up and took the fight the eight round distance with Mould winning with a dominant point victory of 80-71.

With a World title challenge in his sights, Mould is eager to put on a scintillating display and show the fans’ that he’s the next big name to emerge on the British scene.

Mould said, “I’m raring to get out and fight and I can’t wait for October 6 in Sheffield.  It’s an important fight for me and a big win set me up for a big fights next year.  My team are looking at potential names now and I’ll be in a position to confirm soon who will be in the opposite corner.  I won the title with a good win over Ghaz and then faced a tough Mexican last time out, I’ll be ready for whoever is put in front of me.”

To compliment the top of the bill, GBM Sports have assembled a top quality undercard that will see a fiery East Midlands clash between fierce rivals Emma Dolan (5-0-0, 1 KO) and Nicola ‘Hurricane’ Hopewell (3-0-0, 1 KO) in the chief-support.  

Dolan from Newark created a small piece of history when she became the first ever holder of the female Commonwealth Super-Flyweight Championship by defeating tough Tanzanian Halima Vunjabei on the judges’ scorecards.

She makes the first defence of the title against Worksop’s unbeaten Hopewell with plenty of pride and ‘bragging rights’ at stake in the hot derby showdown that has got the trade and fans’ excited.

On the undercard two talented Sheffield prospect with fascinating stories will feature.

What can be billed as a ‘homecoming’ of sorts, Naphtali Nembhard, who was a former basketball player with the Sheffield Sharks will make his professional boxing debut in the middleweight division over four rounds.  The 27-year-old played as a small forward for the Sharks and makes the transition from the court to the ring where he will see if his fast hands can make the change from scoring hoops to knockouts.

One of the biggest compliments a boxer can receive is when fans says ‘they have the heart’.  For undefeated bantamweight prospect Nohmaan Hussain (3-0-0), it also has another meaning as he also has a career as an NHS cardiac intensive care practitioner.  The Sheffield University graduate works in an Intensive Therapy Unit ITU monitoring and caring for Level 3 patients who are severely poorly from both pre and post cardiac surgery.  Hussain aims for his fourth victory in his four round contest.

Also on the card will be the unbeaten Oldham Bantamweight Will Cawley (3-0-0, 1 KO), the latest protege under top trainer Ben Davison, and Birmingham Super-Featherweight talent Adam Mohammed will make his professional debut.

Promoter Izzy Asif, CEO of GMB Sports, is looking forward to seeing Mould back in the ring and heading an action-packed show.  He said, “It’s fantastic to have Mould headline the show in Sheffield on October 6 and defending his belt.  He brings excitement and action whenever he fights and the fans’ love to watch him so it will be another electric night for GBM Sports.  The chief support on the card between Dolan and Hopewell is also set to be a red-hot match with plenty of East Midlands pride at stake for the winner and loser.  With two of our popular and exciting up-and-coming Sheffield talents on the card in Naphtali and Nohmaan plus the additions of Will and Adam, the card is nicely shaping up at this points.  We’ll have an announcement on the venue very shortly and further fighters who will feature on the card.”

An announcement will be made in due course for the official press conference with further fights to be added to the card.