After a relatively quiet summer, the northern U.K. boxing scene has begun to crank back to life, and Thursday brought news of two shows – both of which will take place on Nov. 16.
Firstly, Black Flash Promotions announced that they will be hosting a four title show at Bowlers Arena in Manchester, England.
Lewis Wood (8-2) will box Josh Holmes (15-0, 5 KOs) for the English junior lightweight title.
After a rocky start to his career, Salford’s Wood has really found his feet over the past year, and last December he became the Central Area champion at 130 pounds by getting off the floor to beat the previously unbeaten John Edwardson in a 10-round war. In July, he defended his title against another unbeaten fighter, Faraqat Ali, and once again prevailed after a hard, toe-to-toe battle.
The unbeaten Holmes is talented and trains under Joe Gallagher at Champs Camp in Moss SIde. Holmes suffered hand trouble early in his career and has been brought along slowly but is a talented operator. His team clearly feel that the time is right to pitch him into a test.
Unbeaten heavyweights Pete Naylor and Luis Wright will box for the vacant Central Area title.
Bradford’s Naylor has been a fixture on Black Flash shows over the past couple of years. The powerful, aggressive Naylor (7-0, 1 KO) has improved dramatically but faces a genuine test against Blackpool’s Wright (6-0, 3 KOs), who is 13 years younger, stands 6-foot-6 and carries an advantage in power.
After losing a tight decision to Lewis Wood for the Central Area junior lightweight title in July, Faraqat Ali (8-1-1) will get another bite at the cherry when he faces Adam Rasool (6-3-1) for the newly vacated belt.
Chester’s “Old School” Rasool has had an up-and-down career but is better suited to the longer distance and performed well when losing an eliminator for the English title last December.
Ali is a talented fighter who will have learned plenty from going 10 rounds with the relentless Wood. However, he will know that he can’t afford to lose a second Area title fight.
Charlotte Powell (5-1-1) and Gemma Ruegg (7-12-1, 1 KO) will fight for the Commonwealth silver junior bantamweight belt. The two were due to meet last weekend but will finally meet in November.
On the same night, at Liverpool’s famous old Olympia, local rivals Ryan Farrag and Marcel Braithwaite will meet in a rematch at junior bantamweight.
Last June, Braithwaite (17-4-1, 2 KOs) beat Farrag in a grueling battle to add the Commonwealth belt to his British title. In April, Braithwaite traveled to South Africa to box IBO belt holder Ricardo Malajika but turned in a disappointing performance and lost a wide decision.
Farrag (22-5, 6 KOs) is now 36 years old but has spent much of his career competing at the highest level. It has been eight years since Farrag traveled to Belgium to win the European title by beating Stephane Jamoye, and he is still competing successfully at title level. In June, he outpointed the solid Quaise Khademi to win the Commonwealth title.
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79