Three of England’s best known boxers, former world titleholders Terry Flanagan and Rocky Fielding and longtime contender Martin Murray, will appear on the same card on July 12, MTK Global has announced.
The card, which will take place at the Eventim Olympia in Fielding’s hometown of Liverpool, England, will stream live in the United States on ESPN+.
Fielding (27-2, 15 KOs), 31, will face an opponent to be determined in a 10-round super middleweight bout in his first fight since being stopped in the third round and losing his secondary world title to Canelo Alvarez in December in New York.
“I’m absolutely buzzing to be back. There’s no place like home and the Olympia is really where my career started,” he said. “I won (the) Prizefighter (tournament) there and then the English and British titles there too. It’s great to be back fighting in front of my home fans. I look at the top names in the division and I believe I’m still up there.
“I’m looking forward to training alongside my good mate Martin Murray for this one. The last time we were on a bill together, we both won titles so it’ll be special for us both.”
Murray (37-5-1, 17 KOs), 36, who is 0-4-1 in world titles fights at middleweight and super middleweight, will face Kim Poulsen (28-5, 7 KOs), 32, of Denmark, in a 10-round super middleweight fight. The bout will be Murray’s first since a majority decision loss to former middleweight titlist Hassan N’Dam in December.
“I believe I’m on a different level to him but for a comeback fight, it’s not going to be any kind of walkover. He’s coming to win,” Murray said. “With my skills as a boxer plus my superior physical attributes, I still plan on getting him out of there and look good doing it.”
Flanagan (33-2, 13 KOs) will face an opponent to be determined in an eight-round lightweight fight. He is returning to the 135-pound division following two losses in a row at junior welterweight. He held a lightweight belt from 2015 to 2018 before moving up in weight to face Maurice Hooker for a vacant world title last June.
Hooker won a split decision in Flanagan’s hometown of Manchester, England. Then Flanagan entered the World Boxing Super Series 140-pound tournament and lost his quarterfinal bout to by unanimous decision to Regis Prograis in October.
“The plan is to stay busy to get myself back in contention at lightweight. MTK Global are giving me what I wanted by keeping me active,” said Flanagan, who will be in his first fight since signing with MTK Global. “A lot of times in the past I would have a fight and then not know when I was fighting again for a while, so by having a set out plan I know I’ll be keeping the ball rolling and it always feels more natural and normal when I fight. That’s when I’m at my best and that journey starts on July 12 in Liverpool.
“It’s a big show on ESPN+ with some great names on the bill but I’m sure my fans will be louder than anybody and make lots of noise. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and proving a bit of a point. This will probably be the final chapter of my career under MTK Global, but I feel the best is still yet to come.”
Also on the card, featherweights James “Jazza” Dickens (26-3, 11 KOs), 28, a former junior featherweight world title challenger, who be fighting in his hometown, and Nathaniel May (20-1, 11 KOs), 23, of Australia, meet in a 10-round bout.