Full Lineup For ‘Matchroom Fight Camp’ Revealed

After months of planning, Matchroom Boxing has finally announced the lineup for its “Matchroom Fight Camp” series. Set to take place in the backyard of Matchroom’s UK offices, the 15-acre land in Brentwood, Essex will host some of the top fights in boxing today.

From August 1 to August 22, Matchroom will host several world title and contender fights with local talent.

“Eddie Hearn has supplied a sizzling summer schedule in August, starting with three Sky Sports shows packed with British talent. Sam Eggington against Ted Cheeseman should be a classic clash, while the exciting trio of Jordan Gill, Fabio Wardley, and Dalton Smith will be eager to impress,” Adam Smith, Sky Sports Head of Boxing Development stated.

Four weeks of action 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Welcome to #FightCamp 👊

We're live on @SkySportsNews any minute for the announcement! pic.twitter.com/zCtNmg4woq

— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) June 26, 2020

Opening up “Fight Camp” on August 1 will be Sam Eggington defending his IBF International Super-Welterweight Title against Ted Cheeseman. Eggington (28-6) is on a four-fight win streak dating back to the middle of 2019. His last fight was a retirement-win against Daniel Urbanski in November. He beat Orlando Fiordigiglio for the title in September of last year. Cheeseman (15-2-1) is 1-2-1 in his last four fights. He lost to Scott Fitzgerald in his last bout in October via unanimous decision following a split decision draw against Kieron Conway.

The undercard features:

• James Tennyson (26-3) v. Gavin Gwynne for the British Lightweight Title
• Jordan Gill (24-1) v. Reece Bellotti (14-3)
• Fabio Wardley (8-0) v. Simon Vallily (17-2-1)
• Dalton Smith (5-0) v. Nathan Bennett (9-1)

Main eventing the August 7 card will be Terri Harper v. Natasha Jonas for the former’s WBC and IBO Super-Featherweight World Titles. The two were supposed to face off on April 14, but the coronavirus altered those plans. Harper (10-0) made her professional debut in 2017. The 23-year-old won the IBO Super-Featherweight Title against Nozipho Bell in a busy 2019 that featured four wins. She started 2020 by beating Eva Wahlstrom for the WBC Super-Featherweight Title.

The 35-year-old Jonas (9-1) is the first female Olympian from England. She has won three fights in a row since having her undefeated streak snapped by Viviane Obenauf. The southpaw has beaten Feriche Mashauri, Bec Connolly, and Bianka Majlath.

The undercard features:

• Chris Billam-Smith (10-1) v. Nathan Thorley (14-0) for the Commonwealth Title
• Anthony Fowler (12-1) v. Adam Harper (9-1)
• Aqib Fiaz (5-0) v. Kane Baker (13-6)
• Hopey Price (2-0)

Main eventing the August 14 card will be Felix Cash defending his Commonwealth Middleweight Title against Jason Welborn. Cash (12-0) made his professional debut in 2016 and beat Rasheed Abolaji for the vacant Commonwealth Title. He beat Jack Cullen via TKO in his last outing, his eighth win via some form of knockout. Welborn (24-8) is on a two-fight losing streak dating back to 2018. The 34-year-old has seven wins via knockout.

The undercard features:

• Zelfa Barrett (23-1) v. Eric Donovan (12-0)
• Kieron Conway (14-1-1) v. Navid Mansouri (20-3-2)
• Shannon Courtenay (5-0 v. Rachel Ball (5-1)
• John Docherty (8-0)

The finale on August 22 will feature Dillian Whyte defending his interim WBC Heavyweight Title against Alexander Povetkin. The two were supposed to fight one another on May 2 in Manchester. The fight was postponed due to the coronavirus and was rumored for late July before being called off by Matchroom.

Whyte (27-1) has not fought since December when he beat Mariusz Wach via unanimous decision. On an eleven-fight win streak, “The Body Snatcher” won the interim WBC title against Oscar Rivas in July. The 32-year-old has been the number one-ranked fighter for the WBC since 2017. Povetkin (35-2-1) last fought in December as well, fighting Michael Hunter to a split decision draw. He is 1-1-1 in his last three fights, his last win against Hughie Fury for the vacant WBA International Heavyweight Title.

The co-main event will feature Katie Taylor defending her WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO Lightweight Titles. Originally scheduled to face off against Amanda Serrano, Matchroom is still looking to get this bout done.

The undercard also features:

• Martin Bakole (15-1) v. Sergey Kuzmin (15-1)
• Luther Clay (13-1) v. Chris Kongo (11-0) for the WBO Global Welterweight Title

Said Smith: “We’re back with a red-hot line-up of live boxing!”