Matty Askin will fight Craig Kennedy for British cruiserweight title

By BoxingNews

CYCLONE Promotions are delighted to announce that Cardiff’s undefeated Craig Kennedy will box Blackpool’s former British and Commonwealth title challenger Matty Askin for the vacant British cruiserweight title at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff on Saturday March 11, live and exclusively on Channel 5. This vacant British Cruiserweight title fight promises to be one of the most entertaining domestic dust-ups of 2017, on a huge weekend for Welsh sport in the capital Cardiff, as Wales play Ireland in the Six Nations Rugby the night before (Friday, March 10) at the nearby Principality Stadium.

Hometown hero Craig Kennedy will be looking to make it a Welsh double triumph that weekend when finally gets his shot at the British title against Blackpool’s dangerous English champion Matty Askin. Both men won their respective eliminators for this title shot and can rightfully claim to be two of the best cruiserweight’s in the UK.

Cardiff’s undefeated Craig Kennedy, the IBF International champ, 16 (8)-0, will hope to benefit from his fanatical home support when he faces off against the in-form Askin on March 11.

Kennedy’s impressive undefeated record carries wins over Liverpool’s former British and Commonwealth title challenger Courtney Fry and Belgium’s big-punching Joel Tambwe Djeko, both of whom were outpointed by the talented Cardiff boxer, in June 2015 and May 2016 respectively.

Askin, 21(13)-3-1, is the current English cruiserweight champion and earned his second shot at the British title with a comprehensive victory over Belfast’s previously undefeated Tommy McCarthy in November. The twenty-eight year old Askin is currently in the form of his life having soundly beaten two undefeated prospects in his last two contests, with a destructive knockout of Simon Barclay for the English title followed by his aforementioned points victory over McCarthy.

The scene is set for a classic British title showdown between two of the best cruiserweight’s in Britain on March 11 at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff.

The undercard for Kennedy vs Askin is packed full of the best Welsh and Irish boxing talent. Chief support bout on March 11 at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff will be the eagerly anticipated rematch between Northern Ireland’s Conrad Cummings and the experienced Ronny Mittag of Germany. In their previous meeting in November at Wembley Arena Mittag picked up a hotly disputed decision in what was a closely contested bout for the vacant IBF Inter Continental Middleweight crown. Cummings will be looking to tear that title back off the IBF #15 ranked middleweight Mittag when these two warriors meet for a second time on March 11 at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff.

Also featuring on the stacked Cardiff bill will be Aberdare’s undefeated Morgan Jones, who takes a big step up in class against Libya’s undefeated Malik Zinad in an international 8×3 mins light heavyweight contest. This clash of stylish undefeated prospects will feature on the live Spike UK undercard broadcast on March 11, alongside Mittag vs Cummings.

Local talent on the big Kennedy vs Askin undercard includes Cardiff’s undefeated 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Nathan ‘Thunder’ Thorley, as well as Aberdare’s big Dorian Darch, Barry’s popular Jason Sillett and John O’Kelly. There is also an arena debut for Ebbwe Vale’s highly rated Ashley Brace, the undefeated female bantamweight contender who is honing in on a European title shot.

More undercard announcements will follow shortly.

Doors will open at 4pm at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff on Saturday March 11, with boxing commencing at 4.30pm.

Craig Kennedy said, “This is a massive fight, a proper British title fight between two of the best cruiserweights in the UK. I’m over the moon to have this opportunity at home in Cardiff on March 11, it’s a big night for Welsh boxing and I can’t wait for it. I’ve worked hard to get this shot and I’m going to do everything I can to win the British title on March 11.”

Matty Askin said, “I’m delighted to be fighting for the British title live on Channel 5. I’ve not reached my potential yet as a pro but March 11 is going to be my time, I’m coming to Cardiff to win that belt and silence his fans.”

Promoter Barry McGuigan said, “This fight is a brilliant advert for the sport of boxing. Two respectful guys who, with the exception of World champion Tony Bellew, genuinely are the best in the land at their weight division. I think this could be one of the best domestic contests of the year, Craig Kennedy is a talented and immensely popular undefeated fighter that I’ve had the pleasure of working with before. He’s a class act and on March 11 he’s in against another classy boxer in Matty Askin, who is a fighter in the form of his life. Askin has fought at a higher level to date but he will be going into the lion’s den on March 11 at Motorpoint Arena Cardiff. This has all the ingredients of a classic British title fight.”