ELLIS ZORRO AND Willy Hutchinson will make first defences of their newly won title belts at London’s York Hall on Friday 15 September, live on TNT Sports.

Cruiserweight Zorro (16-0, 7 KOs) took ownership of the WBO European championship in May, applying a spectacular finish following a gruelling battle with former British light heavyweight champion Hosea Burton.

Light heavyweight Hutchinson (16-1, 12) parted Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna from his WBC International title in a brutal fashion, knocking down the Argentinean twice ahead of a fourth-round stoppage.

A third title fight of a Bethnal Green night will see undefeated featherweight Masood Abdulah (8-0, 5) fight for the vacant Commonwealth Silver championship, which will represent a maiden title shot for the Islington man.

Hutchinson, approaching 25, is excited to launch his title reign and make gains in the WBC world rankings.

“Oh, I am looking forward to it, of course I am,” said the former World Amateur Champion. “Obviously, with being a champion this time, it is good to defend and start pushing on. It is not so much different now, but it is all new to me, it is another experience in my life, and I am sure there will be plenty more of them.

“I can start getting up those rankings now and start chasing, start chasing the big names. That is the plan, I am 25 in a couple of days, and it is time to start pushing on now, isn’t it? It is time to start smashing these fellas.

“My last fight was all well and good, but you still haven’t seen the best of me, that is the truth. The best is yet to come. It was a step forward in my career and, step by step, I am getting better and better. In this next one I am going to get even better.”

Zorro, 30, for his part, is clearly delighted that his cruiserweight career is now sharply gathering momentum following his winning exploits in the short-form Boxxer tournament in mid-2022.

“I think this is the quickest turn-around I’ve had since I was fighting on small hall shows,” he reflected. “I think that is what I was looking forward to with winning a title and then defending it.

“I’ve gone from, trying to get on a card and sitting around after winning the Boxxer, to headlining and winning a title and now headlining again to defend it. I am over the moon, to be honest with you, I am happy it is at York Hall again and my last two have been good fights for the fans.

“I am looking forward to it, I am not being over-confident, I am just over the moon to be this active because I haven’t been since I was fighting journeymen. I am just really happy.”

Also featuring on the card will be Chatham light heavyweight Karol Itauma (10-1, 7), Northampton super welterweight Carl Fail (9-0, 3) and Streatham bantamweight Chris Bourke (12-1, 7) fighting over eight rounds.

Reading super welterweight Joshua Frankham (8-0, 2) and Maidstone welterweight Sean Noakes (5-0, 3) will be fighting over six, with Thamesmead cruiserweight Natty Ngwenya (2-0) and debut making middleweight Sam King from Luton in four-round fights.

Promoter Frank Warren added: “Once again this tremendous stage offers the opportunity for new champions to top up their experience at a higher level and for prospects to turn themselves into potential contenders.

“It is such a valuable platform for our young fighters to develop and it is delivering the results we intended, with both Ellis Zorro and Willy Hutchinson showing such promising signs of what is to come from them in years to come.

“Ellis and Willy were so impressive against strong opposition last time out and they made statements in the ring that got people talking and excited about future fights.

“At York Hall this time there is also a first title opportunity for the undefeated Masood Abdulah and I am also looking forward to seeing the progress made by the rest of the young fighters on the card who are closing in on title contention themselves.”

Tickets for the York Hall show on Friday 15 September are on sale now available from: ticketmaster.co.uk.

WILLY HUTCHINSON WILL fight for his first major title at light heavyweight when he takes on the experienced Croatian Emil Markic for the WBO Intercontinental Championship at the OVO Arena, Wembley on January 28.

The former World Amateur champion will add to the light heavyweight theme of the night, which is headlined by Anthony Yarde’s challenge for the unified world titles of the unbeaten champion Artur Beterbiev. Young light heavyweight contender Karol Itauma also fights for his first professional title on the show, with the WBC International title on the line in his fight.

Hutchinson, 24, made an unsuccessful assault on the British super middleweight title against Lennox Clarke in March 2021 before swiftly heading back to the 175lb ranks and clocking up victories over Karel Horejsek and Luca Spadaccini, which both ended via stoppage.

The Scot currently holds a record of 15-1, with 11 of his wins coming by way of KO.

Markic is a seasoned campaigner with 36 fights under his belt – with just three defeats – and is known in the UK for engaging in a shootout against Callum Johnson at York Hall in April 2021 in a fight for the WBO Global title.

Johnson was heavily rocked and on the brink of defeat in the first round before recovering and himself forcing a stoppage in the second.

Markic won the WBO European title in 2019 with victory over Tomas Adamek, having won the same title the previous year via defeat of Kavin Gebhard. 2018 also saw him win the WBF world light heavyweight title by overcoming Denis Liebau and in 2015 he also held a WBU version of the title.

Hutchinson is thrilled to find himself back in the title mix.

“This is my big moment to break into the title mix at light heavyweight and set myself on the path towards fighting for a world title. That is where I intend to get to and first I’ve got to do a good job on a tough fighter in Emil Markic.

“Markic has a lot of experience and it is the sort of fight I need to move myself up to the next level. I will be putting on a show on January 28 and reminding everyone of what I am all about.

“I am getting right back to my best and working hard every day over here in Spain, putting in the hours and improving all the time.

“It is a fantastic show to be on at Wembley and I will be watching the main event with interest once I get my belt around my waist.”

Tickets to see Willy Hutchinson vs Emil Markic for the WBO Intercontinental Championship on the undercard of Beterbiev vs Yarde are priced from £50 and are available from AXS.com and Ticketmaster.co.uk.

he huge Queensberry and BT Sport boxing double header will continue live tomorrow night at 7pm on BT Sport 1 HD.

Night 2 will be headlined by Willy Hutchinson challenging for the vacant British and Commonwealth Super-Middleweight titles against Lennox Clarke.

The main event, and the entire undercard, weighed in today inside the fighter bubble.

Official photos from todays weigh-in will be uploaded here

Official weigh-in results below:

Willy Hutchinson 11st 13lbs 10oz
Lennox Clarke 12st

Louie Lynn 8st 13lbs 2oz
Sebastian Perez 8st 12lbs 8oz

Nathan Gorman 19st 6lbs
Pavel Sour 16st 8lbs

Mark Chamberlain 9st 12lbs 8oz
Jordan Ellison 9st 12lbs

Eithan James 10st 2lbs 8oz
Clayton Bricknell 10st 3oz

Umar Khan 9st 8oz
Levi Dunn 8st 12lbs 7oz

Stephen Adentan 14st 5lbs 12oz
Andrius Ruzas 14st 12oz

On Saturday night at London’s Copper Box Arena, the British and Commonwealth super middleweight title will be on the line for the highly-anticipated shoot-out between former world amateur champion Willy Hutchinson (13-0) and the rugged and ruthless Lennox Clarke (19-1-1).
 
While we cannot wait for the action to unfold, there was plenty of talking going on when Dev Sahni brought the pair together for an e-Press Conference earlier this week.
 
Hutchinson v Clarke will be shown, live and exclusive, on BT Sport from 7pm on Saturday.
 
If you were to become British and Commonwealth champion on Saturday night, what would it mean to you?
LC: Obviously it would mean everything and all the hard work we have been putting in would pay off. I am fully confident that it is going to pay off and it is going to be a good fight, I can guarantee that. You are gonna get more than 100% from me so I am confident of getting the win.
 
It will be a special night for you Willy, if you can pull this off. What will becoming champion mean to you?
WH: Of course it will mean a lot. It is a good fight, I am not debating that and that this fella isn’t coming to win. Of course he is coming to win. I am looking for the best of what he is going to bring and it will be a good fight, I am ready to rock n roll! I can’t really call him anything because I have heard good things about him. He can fight and so can I, so I can only say there is going to be fireworks on the night.
 
I haven’t stopped training, since I’ve been professional I haven’t stopped training. I have never been one of these to start training and then take a month off. After my last fight I was straight back in the gym and, after one of them, I was training on the night of the fight. Listen, I am more than ready, I am as ready as ever and ready to become the next British and Commonwealth super middleweight champ.
 
Lennox, Willy is 13-0 so far and has looked pretty good in beating the guys he’s been facing. What makes you different to the other guys?
LC: He knows who he’s been fighting and, obviously, all of the British boxing fans know who he’s been fighting. They are nothing on me. What I’m going to bring is hell, a different ball game to who he has been up against. They have been coming over and it has been routine wins for him. From the first bell to the last bell I am going to be on him. He is a good fighter, but he has got a hell of a lot of pressure to live up to. They are blowing smoke up his arse saying he is the next Calzaghe. I beg to differ and he is going to have the pressure of me as well from one to 12 rounds – if he is still there.
 
I guarantee fireworks and nothing but fireworks. He can laugh but I can guarantee fireworks on my behalf.
 
WH: Listen, when one of these hits you on the chin, mate, we’ll see.
 
LC: Make sure mate, I am not one of those dustbins you have been bowling over. Let’s be real.
 
WH: Truth, you are like a little dustbin, a walking forward little troll.
 
LC: In that case you will take me out then? The pressure is on you mate. I am happy I get the best of you because, after I beat you, I will get the recognition that I deserve and want.
 
WH: You know what it is, you’ve got more chance of flying to the moon and back than ever beating me. That is the truth.
 
LC: I am ready, more than ready. So let’s ‘ave it man and let’s go for it.
 
Lennox mentioned there about pressure and, when you turned pro, it was with fanfare and having Shelly Finkel as manager and Frank Warren calling you the next Calzaghe. Are you feeling the pressure at all?
WH: What pressure have I got on me, man? I am just chilling and I don’t need to have any pressure on me. As long as I do what I can do, I have no pressure. What I do on the night will show what I am all about.
 
Listen, it will be a good fight, I am not saying it won’t. They are saying it is my biggest test to date, but I have boxed all around the world and have beaten the best in the world. The only person you’ve ever fought is Lerrone Richards and he vacated his titles so as not to fight me.
 
LC: We were ready on December 5^th and, fair enough, you was ill but you needed more time to get ready. Just turn up this time and keep up the same energy.
 
WH: I’ve been boxing and staying in the gym.
 
LC: Listen, you have steamed over little one round jobbies mate. They are not making you ready for me. You were king of the amateurs, king of the kids bro. You haven’t beaten no-one. Your career is done, it is the end of you now bro, trust me.
 
Lennox, are you surprised that he has taken this fight because it feels like a huge jump?
LC: It is a massive jump for him. He is a good fighter and he’s got belief in himself. Personally, I think it is a little too early for him because it is a massive step-up, but you can’t knock the kid. We’ll see on the night because talk is cheap. We’re both ready, it is going to be a hell of a fight and I am excited.
 
Frank Warren said he could be the next Joe Calzaghe. What do you think about that?
LC: Well, if he is the next Calzaghe I am the next Nigel Benn, so there you go. Let’s have it, Calzaghe v Benn. That’s what’s going down.
 
WH: Fair enough, but what is Lerrone Richards then, who beat you? Muhammad Ali?
 
LC: I am going to punch holes in you, break you up.
 
WH: He is coming to win! I am so grateful I have a man who is coming to win, who wants to break me down, kill me and knock me out. I am welcoming that and this is what it is all about.
 
Are you expecting the hardest fight of your career?
WH: It is the hardest fight.
 
LC: It is the hardest fight of his career. It is the hardest fight of his life. We can all talk shit, but it is done now, let’s get ready, get cracking. He says I got beaten by Richards, but we all have stuff going on in camp and I shouldn’t have boxed. But this kid will have a fully able me in front of him, no excuses, I’m going to punch holes in him from round one to round 12, if he is still there. If his ticker don’t go. I’ll tell you what bro, let’s just fight. Let’s have it Gypsy-style.
 
WH: Why?
 
Willy, how much confidence have you got in your power heading into this fight?
WH: I can punch and the lower I have got in weight the harder I am punching – and that is the truth. The lightest I’ve weighed is the hardest I’ve punched. It is not all about punch power, this little man here can punch, all of us can punch. It is about getting them right and putting him to sleep. When this man come to fight I will put him to sleep.
 
LC: You’re putting no-one to sleep, you’ll be going to sleep, or quitting. You’ve got quit in you and you have already pulled out once.
 
What makes you say that Lennox?
LC: When you are in there with someone and you are going to be questioning yourself and all that. I will be coming at him and he is not going to like it.
 
WH: I have never questioned myself in my life.
 
LC: You want to hope I come in like my last fight, but I am leaving nothing in that ring.
 
WH: There won’t be nothing left of you once I have finished with you. Behave yourself.
 
LC: My fitness is there this time and I am banging. He will get the best version of me and I want the best version of him. We are in for a good night, it will be a fan-friendly fight and I will be getting crowned British and Commonwealth champion.
 
What is the key to you winning this fight, Willy?
LC: He is gonna run like a little bitch.
 
WH: It makes me laugh that this little man thinks he’s stronger than me. I’ll jab, stab, move and groove him, I’ll stand in the middle and I’ll punch holes in him. There is not a chance on this earth that this man can beat me. What chance have I got in boxing if this little man beats me?
 
If we fight I will knock lumps off him, if we box I will jab the lugs off him. I will throw so many jabs that after the fourth round he won’t want to come out. Just come out swinging.
 
What’s going to happen in there on Saturday night, Willy?
LC: I’m gonna knock him out. I’m going to stop him.
 
WH: The prediction? It depends if he has got a chin or not, doesn’t it? If he’s got a chin it will be an absolute boxing lesson. If he can take a walloping off me then it will be a boxing lesson. If not, he is asleep. Simple as that.
 

https://www.facebook.com/btsport/videos/2813383292094680/

Top Heavyweight prospect Daniel DuBois was dominant in stopping previously undefeated Ebenezer Tetteh in round one of a scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout at Royal Albert Hall in London.

DuBois scored two hard knockdowns with the referee stopping the bout when Tetteh got to his feet after the 2nd time he was on the canvas at 2:10.

DuBois is 13-0 with 12 knockouts. Tetteh is 19-1.

Archie Sharp scored a vicious knockout over Declan Geraghty in round four of their scheduled ten round super featherweight bout.

Sharp landed a flush left hand to the head that sent Geraghty plummeting to the canvas with the back of his head hitting the deck at 2:14.

Sharp is now 17-0 with nine knockouts. Gerghty is 19-5.

Nicola Adams retained the WBO Flyweight title as she battled to a split draw with Maria Salinas.

Adams took a card 97-93; Salinas won a card 96-94, and a 3rd card was even at 95-95.

Adams is 5-0-1. Salinas is 21-7-4.

Denzel Bentley remained perfect by stopping Kelcie Ball in the 1st round of their scheduled six-round middleweight bout.

Bentley bludgeoned Ball for 72 seconds before the bout was mercifully waved off.

Bentley is 11-0 with nine knockouts. Ball is 10-2.

Dennis McCann remained undefeated by stopping Georgi Georgiev in round tao of the scheduled six-round bantamweight bout.

McCann dropped Georgiev twice in round one, and once in round two before Georgiev was stopped on his feet .

McCann is 4-0 wth three knockouts. Georgiev is 8-16-1.

Willy Hutchinson remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Boris Zankov in a light heavyweight bout.

The time was 2:15 for Hutchinson who is now 10-0 with seven knockouts. Zankov is 11-27-1.

Sam Noakes made a successful pro debut with a stoppage of Chris Adaway after round three of a scheduled four-round welterweight bout.

Noakes dominated the action as he landed hard shots on the ropes throughout the contest. round three, Noakes was bleeding from his left ear.

Noakes is 1-0 with one knockout. Adaway is 9-60-4.

WILLY HUTCHINSON bids to make it a ‘Magnificent 7’ as a professional next month, but insists it is just the beginning.

“The Hutch Train” stops at Leicester’s Morningside Arena on Saturday February 23 determined not to be derailed by any of his rivals.

Promoter Frank Warren, the Scot’s manager Shelly Finkel and trainer Dominic Ingle all say Hutchinson (6-0, 4KOs) is a future world champion.

Hutchinson won European Junior and World Youth Amateur titles making him the first Scot to win a world amateur gold medal.

He says: “I know that people are saying; ‘I am going to be this and be that’, but you can’t take it as gospel because one shot and it goes wrong.

“I just have to stay focused and keep my eyes on what I do, but being a three-weight world champion would do me.

“If I can ever get to world level, I would like my first world title to be at super-middleweight, then move up to light-heavyweight and when I am older become a cruiserweight.

“I just have to wait and see what weight I grow into and although some fights have been at light-heavyweight I can do super-middleweight.

“I haven’t got a dream to beat any particular fighter. I just have a dream to be a three-weight world champion.

“I want big titles eventually, but I don’t expect anything. Who knows what can happen? I’ve just got to keep my feet grounded and take my time.”

Hutchinson, 20, teamed up with trainer Dominic Ingle last year at the famous Wincobank gym in Sheffield and his training partners include Warren stablemates Nicola Adams, Billy Joe Saunders and Liam Williams.

He said: “It is unbelievable being trained by Dominic Ingle and especially being around characters like Jake Ball, Billy Joe Saunders, Jason Quigley and Liam Williams.

“They are great people. We push each other on and it is amazing to even be here.

“Billy Joe shows us all different little things and it is an honour watch him train and see what he can do.

“I try and copy him. He is one of the very best in the world and a privilege to be around him. If he keeps his mind focused he will get his world title back, no problem.

“I can’t wait to get the year started and the ball rolling in Leicester. It should be a great year ahead.”

Headlining the show at the Morningside Arena is the British super featherweight title showdown between the champion Sam Bowen from Ibstock in Leicestershire and Ronnie ‘The Shark’ Clark from Dundee along with Anthony Yarde’s WBO Intercontinental Light Heavyweight Title defense against Mehdi Amar. Local fighters CJ Challenger and Kyle Haywood do battle for the vacant Midlands Area super welterweight title, with Lyon Woodstock, Ryan Garner, Tommy Fury, Ryan Hatton and Mark Chamberlain also featuring on the card.

Tickets are available from £40 are on sale NOW via Eventbrite