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Lonsdale Belt
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British Bantamweight Champion Martin Power puts his unbeaten record and domestic crown on the line this Friday at London's historic York Hall against sharply skilled former title challenger Ian Napa. The Maloney Promotions bill will be televised live on Sky Sports and features some of Britain's most promising young fighters.
This will be Power's first defense of the British title he won by outgunning former Commonwealth king Dale Robinson in a riveting fight of the year slugfest this past May. During the intense media build up to this hotly anticipated clash against the dangerous Ian Napa, the twenty five year old Londoner has promised to bring back the glory days to the bantamweight boxing division.
In training camp, Power, 17-0 (7), has been studying films of such British bantamweight legends as Walter McGowan, Alan Rudkin and Belfast sensation Paddy Maguire plus South London Hero Johnny Clark. Power stated "In the days that these guys were fighting, they were the talk of the town from Liverpool to London and London to Glasgow; nowadays the British fans just talk about the heavyweight division, which at the moment is lost."
"This fight card on Friday gives us little guys the chance to become the big guys and I promise to give a performance that puts me up there with the greats." Martin went on to add, "This is not just about the belt; it is about walking the streets of London as Napa is a close neighbour of mine and there is no way I could walk around the neighbourhood if I lost to him."
"By defeating Ian Napa, I intend to launch my campaign to win a recognised world title after capturing the Commonwealth and European titles. I intend to do it the old school way."
Napa, 12-3 (0), born in Zimbabwe but now residing in the Hackney section on London, is a masterful boxer who has only come up short against top domestic operators during British, Commonwealth, IBO and Southern Area title fights at flyweight and super bantam. Napa has declared that he should have been contending at bantamweight all around and has vowed to end the title reign of Power.
The undercard of this sure fire action fight sees the welcome return of English Lightweight Champion Danny Hunt, 17-1 (3), plus undefeated Gary "Hot Stuff" Woolcombe, 17-0 (5), who continues his quest to become the number one domestic light middleweight.
Manchester's Craig Watson will be shooting for win number five in as many months and Sam Webb, the pride of South London will be looking to cement his position as the "Hatton of the South".
The undefeated Lee Cook rounds up what looks to be a superb evening of fistic entertainment.
Tickets are available from Maloney Promotions on 020 8692 6313 and Sky Sports will televise live. www.frankmaloney.com
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: DHB 1998-2005
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By James Russell, Media Report (November 3, 2005)
