Coventry, UK (3 November 2021) Hard-hitting Reece Cartwright says even if Shakan Pitters can run as fast as sprint legend Usain Bolt, he will still stop him in his tracks and knock him out.

The Leeds banger takes on ‘Big Shak’ at the title packed show at the Coventry Skydome Arena on November 13, for the Vacant WBC International Light-Heavyweight title, live and free on Channel 5.

Pitters, the former British and Commonwealth champion, might have joked about being able to beat Bolt over 800m running backwards, but has seriously riled up his latest foe, by predicting he will take him out early.

Dangerman Cartwright has won 14 out of 23 fights by KO – with his last three fights ending in back-to-back KOs – and has only lost once so wants to show off his power and make the confident Birmingham man eat his words.

“I’ve seen some interviews with him saying he will just get in there and stop me quickly,” said the Yorkshireman.

“Well, my record speaks for itself and anyone who has been in the ring with me and said they were going to stop me, have been knocked out. All of them.

“Pitters can say what he likes, but it is a very different story when you’re getting punched in the face all night. I am going to be on his chest and in his face all night. He can’t hide behind that long jab all night. I will out-jab him, then smash him.

“And he’ll need to be able to run faster than Usain Bolt once he’s in the ring with me. He’ll realise that he will have nowhere to go. He’s not fast enough to escape.

“He’ll probably end up running backwards just to try and get away.”

Cartwright believed Pitters and the rest of British boxing are making a mistake and are overlooking his chances of becoming the WBC International Light-Heavyweight champion.

The 27-year-old has had one warm-up fight following almost three years out of the ring, in which he had to contend and conquer mental illness and indeed, fell out of love with boxing.

But back under the guidance of respected Manchester trainer Joe Pennington, the former English Middleweight champion is rejuvenated and in a good place again, and is delighted he is being billed as the underdog.

“The biggest factor on Saturday night might well be that he [Pitters] is just underestimating me,” he said.

“Maybe it’s because all my biggest fights have been at middleweight, and they think I am just going up to light-heavy for the money. I think he thinks I am just a fat middleweight, but he is wrong.

“He knows I can bang. I’ve got the power, the strength, the speed. All of it.

“I’ve been around the block when I was younger, so I’ve got my fighting style, but I’ve been back working with Joe and have been tweaking it.

“We’ve been working and changing things, adding things. I am just a completely different fighter. If worse comes to worse and I have to go to Plan B, then I go to Plan B, rush him and smash him up.”

Shakan Pitters v Reece Cartwright for the Vacant WBC International Light-Heavyweight Championship headlines the triple-title card that includes a fiery midlands derby between Coventry hot-shot River Wilson-Bent against Rowley Regis rival Tyler Denny for the Vacant English Middleweight Championship. Red hot Irish middleweight sensation Aaron ‘The Silencer’ McKenna will challenge for his first championship title. Aaron’s joins older brother Stevie ‘The Hitman’ McKenna who is lighting up the welterweight division with his dynamic and KO performances. The rest of the Hennessy All Stars team will be out in full force starting with welterweight ace Kaisee Benjamin, Birmingham super-middleweight Idris Virgo; Sevenoaks highly talented super-welterweight Michael Hennessy Jr.; undefeated County Donegal middleweight starlet Brett McGinty; unbeaten Brighton heavyweight destroyer Tommy Welch; Leamington Spa lightweight Danny Quartermaine and Chelmsley Wood lightweight Scott Melvin, both in separate four round contests.

Presented by Hennessy Sports in association with William Hill, Infinitum, Numan and Everlast, tickets are priced at £45, £55, £90 and £120 and are available from https://iceaccount.co.uk/wbc-championship-boxing-info

For further information go to www.hennessysports.com or social media: Facebook @HennessySports, Twitter @HennessySports and Instagram @hennessysports

Coventry, UK (2 November 2021) Birmingham star Shakan Pitters will be walked into the ring by none other than Grime sensation Jaykae, next Saturday.

Pitters headlines the Hennessy Sports multi-title show at the Coventry Skydome Arena on November 13, when he faces Leeds puncher Reece Cartwright, for the Vacant WBC International Light-Heavyweight title, live and free on Channel 5.

Also in title action will be Coventry sensation River Wilson-Bent’s when he challenges for the Vacant English Middleweight title against Rowley Regis rival Tyler Denny in a fiery Midlands derby and undefeated Irish Middleweight ace Aaron McKenna challenging for his first title.

‘Big Shak’ knows a win will smash him into the top 15 in the world and with the renowned Jaykae recently collaborating with Ed Sheeran, the long-time Birmingham friends are ready to put on another special show.

“We grew up in more or less the same area, Small Heath, so we’ve basically seen each other grow up,” said Pitters, the former British and Commonwealth champion.

“He’s doing his music, I’m doing my boxing and it’s obviously brought us even closer together. It was always going to happen, it was just getting the timing right. This is it.

“Jaykae is a massive star that represents Birmingham. Everyone knows who he is and just how good he is. The ring walk and my fight are going to be great for all the fans, not just those in the Skydome, but everyone watching it live on Channel 5.

“He will get them going and electrify the crowd, then it will be over to me to put on an electric performance. It will be explosive.

“Jaykae will drop a banger, then I will drop and bang out Reece Cartwright.”

Jaykae, whose real name is Janum Khan, has been blowing up the scene for a while now and has played at all the country’s leading festivals like Glastonbury, Reading and Creamfields, and has appeared on stage with Drake and supported Stormzy and Skepta.

He is about to team up again with Mick Skinner and The Streets, the ground-breaking hip-hop group from Birmingham and was one of the local stars that performed alongside the likes of AJ Tracey, Lady Leshurr and Aitch at the BBC 1Xtra show at the Arena Birmingham in 2019.

Pitters was in the crowd that night and not only hopes to have Jaykae walk him into the ring again once he has taken care of Cartwright next Saturday but would love to see more grime stars from the second city get involved.

“I hope this is the start of something,” he said.

“I like to support my city and behind the scenes I do a lot with the schools in Birmingham and a few charities as well, so I would love to work more with the brilliant music stars we’ve got.

“I’d love to do it again with Jaykae, maybe Mista, maybe M1llionz… There are so many. The best artists in Birmingham walking in with me would be brilliant.”

Pitters is never short of a few words in the build-up to his fights but has confirmed he will not be joining Jaykae on the mic.

They are “still discussing” which one of the star’s biggest songs will see him in, but the big punching light-heavyweight is happy to let his friend get the Skydome rocking.

“I’ve tried a bit of freestyle rapping when I’ve been on holiday with my mates, but I am not really about that,” he said.

“Jaykae always sends out a positive message for Birmingham so I will leave the words to him. I’ll just let my fists do the talking.”

Shakan Pitters v Reece Cartwright for the Vacant WBC International Light-Heavyweight Championship headlines the triple-title card that includes a fiery midlands derby between Coventry hot-shot River Wilson-Bent against Rowley Regis rival Tyler Denny for the Vacant English Middleweight Championship. Red hot Irish middleweight sensation Aaron ‘The Silencer’ McKenna will challenge for his first championship title. Aaron’s joins older brother Stevie ‘The Hitman’ McKenna who is lighting up the welterweight division with his dynamic and KO performances. The rest of the Hennessy All Stars team will be out in full force starting with welterweight ace Kaisee Benjamin, Birmingham super-middleweight Idris Virgo; Sevenoaks highly talented super-welterweight Michael Hennessy Jr.; undefeated County Donegal middleweight starlet Brett McGinty; unbeaten Brighton heavyweight destroyer Tommy Welch and two new additions to the card, Leamington Spa lightweight Danny Quarter and Chelmsley Wood lightweight Scott Melvin, both in separate four round contests.

Presented by Hennessy Sports in association with William Hill, Infinitum, Numan and Everlast, tickets are priced at £45, £55, £90 and £120 and are available from https://iceaccount.co.uk/wbc-championship-boxing-info

For further information go to www.hennessysports.com or social media: Facebook @HennessySports, Twitter @HennessySports and Instagram @hennessysports