Matchroom Boxing has just announced its upcoming events through to April, to be shown exclusively live worldwide on DAZN.
Matchroom return to the Utilita Arena Sheffield for a huge night of boxing on Saturday March 23 as the Steel City’s fast-rising super-lightweight contender Dalton Smith (15-0, 11 KOs) steps up against the USA’s three-time world title challenger Jose Zepeda ( 37-4, 28 KOs) and Derby’s WBO welterweight world champion Sandy Ryan (6-1-1, 2 KOs) puts her gold on the line against Denaby Main’s two-division world champion Terri Harper (14-1-2, 6 KOs) in a huge domestic clash.
‘Thunder’ reinforced his credentials as a future world champion last time out by sensationally wiping out Liverpool’s Sam Maxwell with a vicious one-punch knockout in the seventh round of their meeting in Sheffield to add the Commonwealth super-lightweight title to his British belt that he has now won outright.
California’s Zepeda has twice challenged for world honours at super-lightweight – falling short on points against Jose Carlos Ramirez for the WBC crown in 2019 before suffering an eleventh-round stoppage against Regis Prograis for the same title in November 2022. In his only previous visit to the UK Zepeda suffered a dislocated left shoulder during his challenge for the vacant WBO lightweight world title against Manchester’s Terry Flanagan.
WBO 147lbs ruler Ryan will be looking to bounce back from a controversial split decision draw against WBC and WBA world champion Jessica McCaskill in Orlando last September. Ryan was left bitterly disappointed following her world title unification clash having felt she did enough to earn a career-best win. Harper was also left frustrated after her draw with Cecilia Braekhus last October but the 27-year-old now has the opportunity to claim a world title in a third weight division following her success at super-featherweight and Super-Welterweight. Also on the card, Hyde’s Campbell Hatton (14-0, 5 KOs) goes for his first title when he meets Doncaster’s James Flint (13-1-2, 3 KOs) for the Central Area super-lightweight title.
Two of the USA’s brightest emerging stars are out to impress at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Saturday April 6. New York Super-Lightweight ace Richardson Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs) looks to build on his shutout points win over Jose Zepeda at the Caribe Royal Orlando last September when he takes on Argentina’s Gustavo Daniel Lemos (29-0, 19 KOs) in a Final Eliminator for the IBF world title, and destructive super-middleweight powerhouse Diego Pacheco (20-0, 17 KOs) is aiming to extend his nine-fight knockout streak when he meets Colorado’s unbeaten Shawn McCalman (15-0, 7 KOs).
Manchester’s AO Arena plays host to an exciting domestic clash between super-featherweight rivals Jordan Gill (28-2-1, 9 KOs) and Zelfa Barrett (30-2, 16 KOs) on Saturday April 13, with World Title action on the undercard as Warrington’s Rhiannon Dixon (9-0, 1 KO) looks to win her first World Title when she takes on Argentina’s Karen Elizabeth Carabajal (21-1, 3 KOs) for the vacant WBO 140lbs crown.
Chatteris’ Gill, a former European and Commonwealth champion at featherweight, stunned Irish hero Michael Conlan with a seventh-round stoppage win on away territory at the SSE Arena Belfast last month and immediately called for a world title shot in his post-fight interview. Standing in ‘The Thrill’s’ way of a dream world title shot is Manchester’s former world title challenger Barrett, and the 30-year-old ‘Brown Flash’ has further world title aspirations of his own having come up short against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov for the IBF title in Abu Dhabi.
Liverpool super-bantamweight Peter McGrail (8-1, 5 KOs) gets an immediate shot at redemption when he rematches Detroit’s Ja’Rico O’Quinn (17-1-1, 9 KOs) at the top of a NXTGEN card on home soil at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool on Saturday April 27. The former amateur star was cruising to a wide points decision on the Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez vs. Sunny Edwards card in Arizona, USA last month when O’Quinn finished his opponent with a brutal right hand in the fifth round.
“The big fights keep coming and I’m delighted to confirm a bumper schedule across March and April,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn. “Four big fight nights across the pond featuring huge domestic World Title clashes, some of the best emerging talent in boxing and make or break rematches – not forgetting ‘Knockout Chaos’ with AJ vs. Ngannou on March 8 in Riyadh. There’s still plenty more to come as we gear up for an exciting year. I can’t wait to get a huge 2024 underway this week in Belfast with Lewis Crocker vs. Jose Felix at Ulster Hall before we head out to Las Vegas for the return of Conor Benn. Watch all of the action live on DAZN.”
