Having been criticised after boxing overmatched opposition and fighting infrequently, new British lightweight champion Sam Noakes responded by doing what he always has: working quietly and letting the subtle intricacies show themselves on fight night. Announced to headline a York Hall card on Apr. 20, it’ll be his third bout in 141 days – he doesn’t want it to stop there, either.
O’Leary praise, familar sparring and McCann’s success
ON a successful night for the Rotunda Gym, Irish talent Pierce O’Leary made the third defence of his WBC International light-welterweight title earlier this month with a ninth-round KO win over unbeaten German contender Hovhannes Martirosyan.
Although he’s been clear about wanting to challenge for European honours, variations of which are held by British boxers in EBU titlist Adam Azim (11-0, 8 KOs) and WBO champion Sean McComb (18-1, 5 KOs), the 24-year-old had to grit his teeth through danger en route to a fantastic finish on a stacked Birmingham card.
“I knew Pierce’s opponent would be a difficult one, having previously sparred Hovhannes… that left hook will get him out of a lot of trouble in future,” Noakes told me while being unsurprised about another successful night’s work elsewhere.
That came for O’Leary’s gymmate and new British super-bantamweight champion Dennis McCann against Brad Strand – he’s now expected to right the wrong and produce a statement showing against former European champion Ionut Baluta in their proposed rematch later this year, though it’ll be anywhere but York Hall again.
Not long left: Addressing rumoured opponents for Apr. 20
- Still waiting in the wings: Noakes tells me he still doesn’t know his opponent for April 20, despite a few rumours to the contrary
- Before his third fight in four-and-a-half months: “Look, I’m happy to be active. My biggest issue is staying disciplined as far as diet is concerned!”
- Had a recent training camp in Marbella with older welterweight brother Sean, unbeaten light-welterweight hopeful Henry Turner (12-0) and more
Gary Cully (17-1, 10 KOs) is perhaps the most notable name being linked with a Noakes matchup at present, at least outside Frank Warren’s Queensberry stable.
The 28-year-old is currently ranked #11 at lightweight with the WBC and a Matchroom fighter, which unfortunately complicates matters as far as ease of negotiations are concerned. Regardless, Irish reports suggest he’s believed to return on the rescheduled Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall 2 bill in Leeds on May 25.
Reece Mould (18-2, 6 KOs) dropped a split decision against the Irishman on the Taylor-Cameron 2 undercard in November and despite saying he wanted an immediate rematch, that was three months ago. Although the 28-year-old boxed well enough to win that night, the Doncaster native will likely rethink his options.
Mould, a two-division English champion at feather and lightweight, has boxed 67 more rounds (112) than Noakes while facing better opposition – challenging for British honours vs. two-time WBA world champion Leigh Wood in February 2021.
Having blasted past his last two foreign opponents in Spain’s Carlos Perez and unbeaten Indian hopeful Karthik Sathish Kumar last year, domestic opponents like recent opponent Lewis Sylvester make sense in the short-term as Sam can win the Lonsdale belt outright with three successful title defences starting on April 20.
Long-reigning former British featherweight titlist Ryan Walsh (28-4-2, 12 KOs) has fluctuated between divisions in his last three outings, most notably losing a wide points decision against Maxi Hughes for IBO world lightweight gold in March 2022, but the 37-year-old made an interesting case to feature across Noakes next month.
A wildcard pick for the 26-year-old’s first defence – provided they’re durable and pose genuine threat – isn’t out of the question but we’ll have to wait and see.
Chamberlain could be a fitting finish to 2024
- After Friday’s York Hall card, Warren told me: “I see that [Chamberlain-Noakes] happening by the end of the year, going to be something extra special. Two really good, young contenders, both have ability to win world titles and I would like to see it be for a significant title or world title eliminator. Genuinely think it’ll happen, you’ll get a quality fight.”
- Although stopped in four rounds by William Zepeda on March 16, Maxi Hughes’ Stateside breakthrough likely to have encouraged his compatriots as they gradually move closer to world-level opposition
All being well, it’ll be a big box ticked by year’s end culminating in a heavily-anticipated battle against his promotional stablemate Mark Chamberlain.
A year younger than him at 25, IBF European titlist Chamberlain (15-0, 11 KOs) endured a fierce gutcheck from Artjoms Ramlavs on Nov. 24 before returning with a career-best showing to overwhelm Gavin Gwynne earlier this month in Riyadh.
“Well, Gavin’s over the hill a bit now but I don’t want to take away from a good win… Mark did well.”
Ranked #14 with the IBF, the Portsmouth man made clear his desire to box again in Saudi Arabia this summer after being personally sounded out by His Excellency Turki Alalshaikh and expects to return around July-August after going on holiday.
That timeline would work nicely as a potential tuneup before boxing Noakes to finish the year in November or December time, assuming both stay perfect and importantly injury-free with their respective commitments elsewhere never a surefire guarantee.
April 20 card, is as follows
British, Commonwealth, WBC and WBO International titles, 12 rounds: Sam Noakes (c) vs. TBA
WBC International Silver light-welterweight title, 10 rounds: Henry Turner (c) vs. Bradley Townsend
Bantamweight, 8 rounds: Andrew Cain vs. Darwing Martinez
Cruiserweight, 8 rounds: Aloys Youmbi vs. Michal Plesnik
Lightweight, 6 rounds: Steven Cairns vs. Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira
Light-middleweight, 6 rounds: Jack Oliphant vs. Remi Scholer
Super-featherweight, 4 rounds: Billy Adams vs. Mark Butler
Amateur talents Joe Cooper and Eoghan Lavin making their professional debuts
2-0 middleweight pro Sam King also set for four-round action elsewhere
Picture source: Getty Images, all quotes procured by me
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