Ex-English champion Joe Mullender gets unexpected title shot against Welsh champion Lee Churcher on BT Sport show
Joe Mullender will face Welshman Lee Churcher for the vacant IBF European Middleweight Championship next Saturday at London's Copper Box Arena.
The 31-year-old from Brentwood takes on Churcher over 12-rounds for the belt that instantly propels the winner into the top-15 in the IBF World rankings.
Mullender was crowned the new English Middleweight Champion back in June after beating former Champion and club mate Lee Markham to avenge his loss at the 02 Arena in 2016.
He decided to vacate his English title in September in order to secure a shot at the IBF title but is still determined to secure a British title showdown with Frank Warren stablemate Tommy Langford in 2018.“The British title is 100 per cent in my sights still,” asserted the Essex boxer. “But given the option to fight for this IBF belt and earn a top-15 World ranking, it’s silly to turn it down because just one or two defences and you could get up in the top-5 in the World.
"You never know what opportunities that could lead to – someone with the World title may choose you as a voluntary defence and every fight could also push you up further for the British.”
Newport's Churcher, 37, holds a record of 13 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw and is currently enjoying a 7-fight winning streak that stretches back to September 2011.
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James DeGale MBE (23-1-1, 14 KOs) tops an unmissable evening of boxing in the capital when he makes the fourth defence of his IBF Super-Middleweight World Title against American Caleb Truax (28-3-2, 18 KOs); Lee Selby (25-0-1, 9 KO's) defends his IBF Featherweight crown against Mexico's Eduardo Ramirez (20-0-3, 7 KO's);
Light-Heavyweight ‘Beast’ Anthony Yarde (13-0, 12 KOs) defends his WBO Intercontinental and European belts against Nikola Sjekloca (32-4-1, 11 KOs), Heavyweight sensation Daniel Dubois (5-0, 5 KOs) aims to continue his KO streak when he faces former Anthony Joshua opponent Dorian Darch (12-5-1, 1 KO) in his sixth contest;
Hugely-popular former English Welterweight Champion Johnny Garton (20-1-1 7 KOs) fights for the Vacant IBF European Welterweight title;
WBO European Lightweight Champion Craig Evans features in an eight round International contest and rising talents Archie Sharp (Welling), Sanjeev Sahota (Hornchurch), Ben Smith (Wycombe), Hamza Sheeraz (Ilford), Umar Sadiq (Ilford) and debutant Harvey Horn (Chigwell) complete an action-packed night of boxing.
Tickets for The Boys Are Back In Town priced at £40 (Upper Tier), £50 (Lower Tier), £70 (Floor), £100 (Floor), £150 (Floor) and VIP/Hospitality £250 are now on sale via Joe Mullender on 07904 719 639
