Two-time world title challenger Anthony Yarde returns, as does Zach Parker with both hoping to shake off ring rust after an eventful year for many reasons. Yet elsewhere on tonight’s undercard, Ezra Taylor faces his sternest test yet at light-heavyweight while Pierce O’Leary targets another quick night and teenage heavyweight Moses Itauma boxes for the fifth time in eight months.
O’Leary: Ciorceri win set me up for Gardner
- Light-welterweight prospect Pierce O’Leary (12-0, 7 KOs) scored a R1 TKO win against Alin Florin Ciorceri in Dublin on the Michael Conlan bill in late May and described it as an out-of-body experience, before telling me politics and untimely scheduling killed hopes of quick turnaround
- Rising light-heavyweight talent Ezra Taylor (6-0, 4 KOs) said he and his team purposely selected former English champion Joel McIntyre (20-7) as his next opponent given the 35-year-old’s pedigree, established names on the resume and an opportunity for everyone to see just how good he is
- 5-0 cruiserweight Tommy Fletcher reveals he spent a few weeks out in Las Vegas training with Joe Joyce before the Juggernaut‘s main event rematch and has seen noticeable improvements first-hand during their sparring sessions – namely the 38-year-old’s head movement
- Teenage super-featherweight Royston Barney-Smith discussed sparring with IBF world champion Joe Cordina, the importance of continued progression under trainer Ben Davison and that’s a belief shared by gym mate Aloys ‘Junior’ Youmbi as developing cruiserweight also returns
Zhilei Zhang (c) vs. Joe Joyce 2 for WBO interim world heavyweight title
London’s Wembley Arena, on TNT Sports in UK and ESPN+ in US
Live later today, main event ringwalks expected around 10.30pm BST
Light-welterweight prospect Pierce O’Leary is back in action, later than he would’ve liked after racing to a first-round finish vs. Alin Florin Ciorceri on May 27, but importantly before the year’s end for a 23-year-old who continues improving and has benefited from perspective recently after watching a friend get tested ringside.
During our conversation he insists rising super-bantamweight Dennis McCann will beat, and probably stop, Ionut Baluta when the pair eventually rematch after a fun-but-frantic nine rounds last month but is aware it won’t be long before the same questions are asked of him as the quality of opposition progressively intensifies.
After going the ten-round distance with Namibian veteran Emmanuel Mungandjela on the Parker-Ryder undercard last November, there was some predictable frustration he couldn’t secure a knockout after scoring two knockdowns (R1, R5).
There was no such complaints in Belfast four months back, and now takes on a tough domestic opponent in Kane Gardner – with wins over Miguel Antin and Conah Walker on his resume – and hasn’t been stopped as a pro. Can he change that?
Zhang-Joyce 2, read more of my coverage
Zhang on motivation, making training developments… targeting Joyce’s eye
Joyce on fluctuating weight, desire to improve and more before Saturday
Joyce’s trainer Ismael Salas concedes he overlooked Zhang, before rematch
Rewind: Zhang stuns Joyce with R6 TKO, new WBO interim HW champion
Mosope: So Pierce, it’s been a while since we last spoke. I missed you out in Belfast, can you talk about that experience?
Pierce: Yeah, it was fantastic. Great to fight back home in Belfast because that’s where I started my pro career – with a massive fanbase – an unbelievable experience, not even my hometown so I can only imagine what Dublin is going to be like when I fight back there, a crazy atmosphere.
When I was doing my ringwalk, I had such tunnel vision that the whole place felt empty and I couldn’t see anybody. It felt like the two people [security] either side of me were carrying me to the ring, looked around when I got in there and there wasn’t an empty seat!
I was three [fights] from the main event, it just goes to show the crowd I carry and the fanbase getting built.
MO: Can you talk a bit about the fight itself, how you felt afterwards and the quick turnaround that never was?
PO: Yeah, the fight went fantastically well as I was expecting ten gruelling rounds so to do it that quick and in that fashion? Couldn’t complain, didn’t feel real. Seeing how much of an impact [watching] that had on the young fans ringside meant a lot.
As you say, we were meant to fight at the end of July and I was back in the gym on Monday, fresh and ready to go again…
MO: Ah, so what happened then?
PO: To be honest, there were just no shows. Telford was full already, Queensberry’s got a lot of fighters over there who can do good tickets so they said we’ll sit out — I was still training everyday — but just had to wait and now we’re back.
Taylor eyes excellence, as he talks progression
If you have any misconceptions about Ezra Taylor from seeing him absorb lazy punches in a fight, or are left unimpressed by his laidback demeanour, spend ten minutes in the 29-year-old’s company. You’ll see why perception can be deceiving.
After just three amateur fights (2017-2019), he made his pro debut on a small hall show in his Nottingham hometown the weekend before COVID-19 shut the world down. There’s never a good time, but this couldn’t be any worse.
A 17-month absence from in-ring action is a considerable chunk of time for anyone, not least a novice pro, but he’s been gradually building to a stage where a Joel McIntyre gutcheck feels fair at this stage of a promising career still in its infancy.
The light-heavyweight division below world level in this country needs more guys like the trio currently in Frank Warren’s stable: Willy Hutchinson (16-1, 12 KOs), Karol Itauma (10-1, 7 KOs) and Taylor – the oldest and arguably hungriest of them all.
He spoke well about being inspired by his divisional counterparts, in a longer piece I’ll cover at a later date, but this quote nicely sums up his mindset:
“This fight gives me a good measure of where I’m at, I believe I know already and Saturday night I get to show and prove what I’m here for.
This is another stepping stone, I’m not underestimating or overlooking him but am very confident in myself because I’ve done everything right – mentally, spiritually, physically – we execute this weekend.”
Itauma back, and the cruiserweight clash bubbling up nicely
- Itauma on making his debut the same night older brother Karol’s unbeaten run ended with R4 KO loss in January: “You can’t really separate it [life outside of boxing], have to live with it, boxing’s just entertainment at the end of the day so I don’t get caught in the bullshit too much.”
- 18-year-old southpaw feels McCann lost to Baluta, is rooting for David Adeleye in Fabio Wardley heavyweight clash next month and bullish about sparring partner Jordan Thompson’s chances vs. IBF cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia on Sept. 30. “He’s very good, so why not?”
- Reflects on experience in training camp with former WBA (Regular) heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois: “It was good because he’s at the top level, he’s only young and still has loads of time left [after Oleksandr Usyk defeat]. I like him, Daniel’s got a clean heart but people don’t realise it.”
- “That’s very interesting, definitely a big fight in the future,” on Aloys Junior vs. Tommy Fletcher as cruiserweight stablemates are purposely kept separate during fight week events with both in six-rounders tonight
It hasn’t been a full year yet since Moses Itauma was introduced to great fanfare as a rising star and pro debutant, but already you can sense the anticipation from fans and critics alike who want to see him as active as possible against live opposition.
He sustained a hand injury during the fight but won every round against Ukraine’s durable Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko (10-13-1, 7 KOs) on the Joyce-Zhang undercard in April and that six-round decision win has already aged well since then.
The London resident recovered from a second-round knockdown to stun 5-0 prospect Matty Harris on a Wasserman show in July, and the overwhelming takeaway there related to the 23-year-old’s suspect conditioning once the going got tough.
Dovbyshchenko’s reward is a trip to Germany tonight, where he’ll box one-time Tyson Fury opponent Tom Schwarz while Itauma faces another rugged adversary in the form of Belgium’s Amine Boucetta (7-8, only one KO loss).
Coming in at a career-low 238lbs for this fight, the Chatham-born teenager continues to trim down in weight – that might not seem significant now but will stand him in good stead as he develops good habits into his early 20s and beyond.
Publicly declaring he’ll target Boucetta’s fleshy body and seek a finish in the middle rounds, it’ll be interesting to see if he can manage another highlight reel stoppage on a night where his heavyweight stablemate dearly needs one too.
Full card, is as follows
Running order is as follows
12 round main event
Heavyweight: Zhilei Zhang (c) vs. Joe Joyce for WBO interim world title
Light-heavyweight, 10 rds: Anthony Yarde vs. Jorge Silva
Heavyweight, 6 rds: Moses Itauma vs. Amine Boucetta
10 rounds
Light-welterweight: Pierce O’Leary (c) vs. Kane Gardner for WBC International title
Super-middleweight: Zach Parker vs. Khalid Graidia
6 rounds
Super-featherweight: Royston Barney-Smith vs. Engel Gomez
Cruiserweight: Aloys ‘Junior’ Youmbi vs. Erik Nazaryan
8 rounds
Light-heavyweight: Ezra Taylor vs. Joel McIntyre
6 rounds
Cruiserweight: Tommy Fletcher vs. Alberto Tapia
Welterweight: Sean Noakes vs. Lukasz Barabasz
Pictures via Queensberry, all quotes transcribed here procured by me
Mo and Sports 