BBBofC lays out plans for British title fights

You’ve heard about the Dubois-Gorman order, but the governing body has plans for most of its other titles, too.

The British Boxing Board of Control has released plans for most British championships. Here’s a rundown.

Heavyweight

With Joe Joyce withdrawing from an ordered fight with Daniel Dubois, Dubois (11-0, 10 KO) will now face Nathan Gorman (16-0, 11 KO) for the vacant title on July 13 at London’s O2 Arena. Dubois, 21, and Gorman, 22, are a pair of undefeated young guns who bring very different skill sets to the table. This is a really interesting fight to look forward to, it’ll stream on ESPN+ in the US and air on BT Sport in the UK. The title was most recently held by Hughie Fury, who beat Sam Sexton in May 2018 and then never defended the title.

Cruiserweight

Lawrence Okolie (12-0, 9 KO) has the title and no order at the moment. He’s most recently been linked to a WBA title fight with Denis Lebedev, who has been reinserted as “super champion” by that sanctioning body.

Light Heavyweight

Joshua Buatsi (10-0, 8 KO) has the title. An eliminator between Andre Sterling (10-0, 4 KO) and Craig Richards (14-1, 8 KO) will take place on June 21 at York Hall in London, which will stream on DAZN in the US.

Super Middleweight

Champion Zach Parker (17-0, 11 KO) has been ordered to defend against Lerrone Richards (12-0, 3 KO). Purse bids will be held on June 12.

Middleweight

Liam Williams (20-2-1, 15 KO) has the title and no order at the moment.

Junior Middleweight

Champion Ted Cheeseman (15-1, 9 KO) still has the British title after his failed attempt to win the European belt in February. He’ll defend against Scott Fitzgerald (13-0, 9 KO) in September, with Eddie Hearn promoting.

Photo by James Chance/Getty Images

Welterweight

Champion Chris Jenkins (21-3-2, 8 KO) will defend against Liam Taylor (21-1, 10 KO) on a Frank Warren card in July.

Junior Welterweight

Robbie Davies Jr (18-1, 12 KO) has the title, and an eliminator between Sam O’Maison (16-2-1, 7 KO) and Kay Prospere (12-1-1, 7 KO) has been ordered.

Lightweight

Joe Cordina (9-0, 7 KO) has the title and no order at the moment.

Super Featherweight

Champion Sam Bowen (15-0, 11 KO) will face Anthony Cacace (17-1, 7 KO) in July, with Frank Warren promoting.

Featherweight

Ryan Walsh (23-2-2, 11 KO) had been ordered to face Jordan Gill (23-0, 7 KO), with purse bids in April, but nobody bid on the fight. Instead, Walsh will be allowed a voluntary defense against Lewis Paulin (12-0, 3 KO) on June 28 at York Hall, which will air on ESPN+ in the US.

Super Bantamweight

Champion Brad Foster (10-0-1, 3 KO) will face Ashley Lane (13-8-2, 1 KO) on May 18 on Frank Warren’s card in Stevenage, England. That will air on ESPN+ in the US, and will also be for Lane’s Commonwealth title. An eliminator between Jason Cunningham (24-6, 6 KO) and Josh Kennedy (11-1, 5 KO) takes place this Saturday, May 11, in Doncaster, promoted by Stefy Bull.

Bantamweight

Ukashir Farooq (12-0, 5 KO) has the title and no order at the moment.

Super Flyweight

The title is currently vacant, and the Stewards have ordered a fight between Sunny Edwards (11-0, 4 KO) and Tommy Frank (10-0, 2 KO), with purse bids on June 12.

Flyweight

Champion Andrew Selby (11-1, 6 KO) has been ordered to defend against Jay Harris (15-0, 8 KO) with purse bides due on June 12. This one may not wind up happening, as Harris is already set to fight on June 1 in Cardiff against Angel Moreno for the vacant European title.

This title barely exists as is — Selby won it in 2016, and that was the last time the belt was on the line, and the last time it had been contested before that was 2013. The title has been around since the early 1900s but has basically always existed in spurts. There just aren’t that many British flyweights. Same goes for the super flyweight title, which only been around since 2007, and its entire history amounts to eight fights.