(AUG 1) Danny ‘Cassius’ Connor has been given the chance to capture his second professional title in successive fights after being matched against the unbeaten Chris Evangelou for the vacant light-welterweight Southern Area Title. The fight is set to take place on 8th September on Matchroom Sports ‘London Calling’ show at Alexandra Palace in which Darren Barker tops the bill making his UK return with the action being shown live on Sky Sports.
26 year-old Connor is coming off the back of a points win against Tyler Goodjohn for the vacant Masters Welterweight Title in a fantastic main event at the York Hall back in May and the TKO trained fighter from Sutton in Surrey is now looking to take his good form into the biggest fight of his career thus far. Connor got the decision by a point in his outing against Goodjohn across the ten rounds, as he used his jab and slick boxing skills effectively to spurn the advances of his opponent and catch the eye of the judges. Connor said, “I stuck to the game plan and got the win and that’s all that matters.”
‘Cassius’ is coming back down to light-welterweight and is in for a tough test against Enfield boxer Chris Evangelou, who is also 26. Nicknamed ‘The Flash,’ Evangelou has won each of his 9 professional bouts, with one of those coming by way of knockout. It is sure to be a great match up as Connor himself is in great form, winning his last four and turning his record around after he lost his first few bouts, taking his tally to 6 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw.
(photo: Scott Hartley, Brett O’Callaghan, Alec Wilkey, Danny Connor and Eren Arif.)
It appears that this Southern Area Title shot could be a stepping stone to bigger and better things for the fighters, as former British champions Lee Purdy and Colin Lynes both fought for the same title earlier in their careers. Both fighters will have plenty of support on the night and have been training hard for this bout, with Connor honing his skills once again at his training base in Canning Town at Jonny Eames’s famous TKO Gym. He is currently under the tutelage of his experienced TKO Gym trainer Alec Wilkey, who is looking to guide him to success on the 8th September. “As much as I’ve achieved in my last few fights I have to give credit to my trainer Alec,” Danny said.
Connor, who fought for Fitzroy Lodge and Rosehill ABC as an amateur added, “He’s a good fighter but I’m confident going into the fight. I’ve been working hard in the gym with some good sparring and I wouldn’t be going in there if I didn’t think I was going to win. I’m sure he feels the same but I’m confident of bringing the belt back to South London.”
Evangelou on the other hand said via his website, “I am training harder than I have ever in my life – training up to 3 times a day. I am loving the support I am getting from the fans for the fight.”
This highly anticipated night of boxing also features a few other title fights and some big names in boxing right now, with Darren Barker vying for the IBF Inter-Continental Middleweight Title against Simone Rotolo after coming back from hip surgery following his loss to Sergio Martinez. Liverpool’s Light-Heavyweight Tony Bellew takes on Edison Miranda for the vacant WBC International Title and Erick Ochieng also features against Ryan Toms for the English Middleweight title. Lee Purdy, Wadi Camacho, Martin Ward, Ryan Taylor, Iain Weaver and John Ryder make up the rest of the undercard and all will be looking to impress on the night, with the boxing commencing at 6 pm.
Tickets for the Saturday 8th September ‘London Calling’ show are priced at £40. If you are interested in purchasing tickets for this event contact Alec on 07944791360. Trainer Alec Wilkey also has 4 of his fighters climbing through the ropes on Sunday 23rd September at York Hall, with Scott Hartley making his professional debut after a solid amateur career and Eren Arif also featuring. Unbeaten light-middleweight Brett Callaghan makes his fourth outing whilst Greek female Areti Mastrodouka continues her journey towards a world title shot. If you are interested in purchasing tickets for an afternoon of boxing, tickets are £35 and you can contact Alec on the number above.
Published on WBAN. We cover women’s boxing and men’s boxing.