Edwards defends Flyweight title with decision over Moreno

Charlie Edwards retained the WBC Flyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Angel Moreno at The Copper Box Arena in London.

Edwards won by scores of 120-107 on all cards and is now 15-1. Moreno is 19-3-2.

Joshua Buatsi remained undefeated by stopping Liam Conroy in round three of a scheduled 12-round light heavyweight bout.

In round three, Buatsi landed a big right hook and then a left as Conroy was falling to the canvas. Conroy was hurt, and then ate a huge right hand that put him down for a 2nd time. Conroy was able to beat the count, but the fight was stopped at 1:53.

Buatsi, 173.4 lbs is 10-0 with eight knockouts. Conroy, 173.6 lbs is 16-4-1.

Lewis Ritson won a 10-round unanimous decision pver German Argentino Benitez in a junior welterweight bout.

Benitez was bleeding from his nose in round four.

Ritson, 139.4 lbs of New Castle, UK won by scores of 99-91 and 98-92 twice, and is now 18-1. Benitez, 139.4 lbs of Buenos Aries, ARG is 21-4.

Lawrence Okolie stopped Wadi Camacho in round four of their scheduled 10-round cruiserweight bout.

Okolie dropped Camacho in round four with a three-punch combination. Seconds later, Okolie landed a big shot, and the fight was stopped at 2:00.

Okolie is 12-0 with nine knockouts. Camacho is 21-8.




CAMACHO: I’M GONNA TAKE THE FIGHT TO HIM

Canning Town’s Wadi Camacho will start as a sizeable underdog when he faces the unbeaten British Cruiserweight king Lawrence Okolie on Saturday in an intriguing trade fight, shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US, but the reigning Commonwealth boss says he will surprise his many doubters by becoming the first man to inflict a defeat on ‘The Sauce’.

“People have said I was finished many times but I proved them wrong and I’ll prove them wrong again by beating Okolie,” said the 33-year-old southpaw.

“Sometimes my mindset outside the ring wasn’t the best it could be but look at my last few performances and you will see that I’m in the form of my career. I’ve had many trainers in the past and I’ve trained myself but I’m so happy to have this team around me now in a big fight. They all really put the work in behind the scenes and all the hard work is now paying off.”

In 2017 Camacho was stopped in four rounds by the then 11-0 Arfan Iqbal in a challenge for the English title but since that loss he has recaptured the Southern Area title with a points win over Ossie Jervier and successful defences against Jose Lopes and Danny Couzens.

And in November he gained revenge over the unbeaten Iqbal with a seventh round technical decision win in a contest where he captured the Commonwealth title he defends for the first time this evening.

Camacho was present at ringside when Okolie halted Tamas Lodi at The O2 in February and the pair ended up face to face in the ring as the double championship fight between the feuding fighters was announced live on Sky Sports.

There has been some choice words exchanged between the two fighters in the build-up and Camacho says he will make Okolie pay for his lack of respect towards him when they exchange punches rather than barbs.

“Lots of people don’t like him,” said Camacho. “He said I was a joke and he was gonna take all the belts off me. I don’t really get into all that sort of stuff I just let my fists do the talking. I think he’s shocked that the fights happening and I’ve turned up.

“I’m a big Cruiserweight and a southpaw which I can use to my advantage in the fight. He has an awkward style that his last few opponents have had trouble dealing with but I’m gonna take the fight to him and lets see what happens when a real Cruiserweight puncher hits him on the chin.”

Okolie vs. Camacho is part of a huge night of action at the Copper Box Arena.

Main event sees Charlie Edwards make the first defence of his WBC Flyweight World title against Spain’s Angel Moreno.

Rising Light-Heavyweight star Joshua Buatsi takes on Barrow-in-Furness man Liam Conroy for the vacant British title in his tenth fight.

Geordie ace Lewis Ritson makes his debut at 140lbs as he takes on Argentina’s German Argentino Benitez for the WBA Inter-Continental title.

Undefeated Irish Middleweight talent Jason Quigley fights for the first time as a pro in the UK, Watford Bantamweight talent Shannon Courtenay makes her highly-anticipated professional debut and Newport Bantamweight talent Sean McGoldrick fights for the first time under new trainer Jamie Moore.




OKOLIE: STOPPING WADI IS A FORMALITY FOR ME

Lawrence Okolie believes that a KO win against Wadi Camacho is a ‘formality’ when the fierce London Cruiserweight rivals clash at the Copper Box Arena this Saturday with the British and Commonwealth titles on the line, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.

‘The Sauce’ returned to his destructive form with a third-round stoppage win over Tamas Lodi last time out at The O2 and the Hackney man, who took criticism from some for messy performances against Isaac Chamberlain and Matty Askin last year, is promising another big KO win to reclaim his Commonwealth crown in East London.

“I think stopping Wadi is a formality for me,” said Okolie. “He’s got the sort of style that will leave him open to me knocking him out. When it comes down to his skill against my skill, Wadi isn’t on my level, or on the level of the people that I’ve already beaten in the amateurs or the pros. I’m taller than him and I hit harder than him. If you break Wadi down as a fighter, I can see many different ways in which I beat him. This fight will definitely end in a knockout.

“He’s a southpaw but he’s also aggressive. An aggressive southpaw in against someone that is taller than them won’t end well. If he goes on the backfoot, he’s not as athletic as me with his footwork, so I’ll be able to get in and out of range a lot quicker than him. He likes to throw a lot of punches which gives opportunities for counterpunching. If I hit him with a shot that he doesn’t see coming, that’ll be a big problem for him.

“With Wadi being a southpaw, it’s very good practice for stepping up to the Lebedevs and other World level guys. I’m not overlooking Wadi, I’ve trained extremely hard for him and I’ll deal with him accordingly. On Saturday I’ll show him and all of the other Cruiserweights in Britain what I’m about. I want to finish Wadi in a more systematic way – maybe go in southpaw and practice different pattern movements. I want to go in there and show him that he’s a practice fight for me as opposed to a 50-50 fight.”

Okolie vs. Camacho is a part of a huge night of action at the Copper Box Arena.

Main even sees Croydon’s WBC Flyweight World Champion Charlie Edwards make the first defence of his crown against Spain’s Angel Moreno.

Rising Light-Heavyweight star Joshua Buatsi takes on former English Champion Liam Conroy for the vacant British title in his tenth fight.

Geordie ace Lewis Ritson makes his debut at 140lbs as he takes on Argentina’s German Argentino Benitez for the WBA Inter-Continental title.

Undefeated Irish Middleweight talent Jason Quigley fights for the first time as a pro in the UK, Watford Bantamweight talent Shannon Courtenay makes her highly-anticipated professional debut and Newport Bantamweight talent Sean McGoldrick fights for the first time under new trainer Jamie Moore.




EDWARDS FACES MORENO IN MAIDEN WORLD TITLE DEFENCE AT THE COPPER BOX ARENA

Charlie Edwards will make the first defence of his WBC Flyweight World title against Angel Moreno on a huge night of boxing in the capital at the Copper Box Arena on March 23, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.

Edwards ripped the famous green belt from Cristofer Rosales on an emotional night at The O2 in London in December, outclassing the Nicaraguan with a masterful display to take a well-earned unanimous decision.

The Croydon man, having lost out in his first bid for World honours against John Riel Casimero in 2016, was overcome with joy after fulfilling his childhood dream, and is excited to begin life as a World Champion against Spain’s Moreno.

“Moreno is a very tough and game fighter,” said Edwards. “He’s a mature man and he doesn’t shy away from any opportunities, he’s going to come to try and steal my title from me. This is a fight that I’m very confident of winning and a fight that I can look really good in. I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring with him, I sparred him ahead of the Casimero fight but I’m a completely different animal now.

“This is only the beginning, this is a new chapter in my career and this is where the real hard work starts. I want to be an active World Champion, I want to be in the ring fighting and getting better and pushing myself. I’m not in this game to take part, I want to be a multi-weight World Champion. I look forward to taking my first steps as a World Champion and defending my belt on March 23.”

Croydon’s fast-rising Light-Heavyweight star Joshua Buatsi takes a significant step up when he takes on the inform Liam Conroy for the vacant British title in just his tenth fight. Buatsi blasted out Renold Quinlan at The O2 in December to bring up his third successive stoppage win inside the opening round, but ‘JB’ expects a tougher night against former English Champion Conroy.

“This is a good benchmark to see where I’m at,” said Buatsi. “My team see me day in day out in the gym and this is the title they feel I’m ready for. Liam has won his last five fights by knockout and he’ll be heading into the fight full of confidence.

“There’s a good title at stake and he knows there’s a big reward if he beats me. For me, it’s a big stepping stone and another box to tick on my way to the top. This is an important fight for my career and I need to get the belt to move on.”

“I believe I can overpower him,” said Conroy. “I don’t believe he’s been in a situation as a professional in which someone can overpower him. I also don’t think he’s been in with anyone who can take what he’s got to give, which I will be able to.

“There’s plenty of hype around him but he deserves it because he trains hard and has already proved himself at the Olympics. I haven’t got the name he’s got but I’m looking to change that come fight night.

Cruiserweight rivals Lawrence Okolie and Wadi Camacho finally get it on in an all London affair, with the British and Commonwealth titles on the line. ‘The Sauce’ picked up the Lonsdale belt against Matty Askin at Wembley Stadium and puts his title on the line for the first time against the Canning Town ‘Machoman’.

Lewis Ritson defends his British Lightweight title against ‘The KO Kid’ Andy Townend in a guaranteed barnburner. The Geordie favourite is determined to return to winning ways after suffering the first loss of his career at the hands of Francesco Patera in October.

“This is a great show,” said Eddie Hearn. “A new hero of British boxing defending his World title in Charlie Edwards, with three brilliant British title clashes on the undercard. Everybody resonated with the story of Charlie Edwards after his memorable performance at The O2 in December. He makes his first defence of his title against seasoned pro Angel Moreno.

“Joshua Buatsi fights for the British title against the inform Liam Conroy, which is a significant step up. Lawrence Okolie finally gets the chance to fight Wadi Camacho for the British and Commonwealth titles after the all of the bad blood. Lewis Ritson returns from his disappointing defeat to defend his British title against big-punching Andy Townsend in what will be a brutal shootout, and there’s plenty more to be added to this stacked card.”

Ticket details will be announced soon.