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Good evening everyone and welcome to the magnificent OVO Hydro for what will be a very special night of boxing headlined by a very strong contender for being considered the Best of British. Josh Taylor is back in business with a new beginning at welterweight.
Queensberry returning to Glasgow for a major show has been a long time coming. We were supposed to be here at this very arena in 2020 staging a Josh world title defence, but then covid came along and we ultimately ended up having to do everything behind closed doors.
So better late than never. I am delighted to have Josh as a Queensberry fighter for his welterweight journey and he will be tested, believe me, by his opponent in Ekow Essuman tonight.
Ekow is a proper fighter and someone I hold in the highest regard. He has been with us a long time and has delivered the goods, winning plenty of titles and always giving entertainment value to the fans. If it wasn’t for a slip-up at the end of 2023, Ekow would have fought for a world title by now, but he has built himself back and taken part in two thrilling fights since then.
Josh’s journey is well chronicled. He has suffered misfortune in his last couple of fights, but he is Scotland’s Undisputed King and nobody can ever take that away from him. However, Josh and ourselves are convinced that he has plenty more to give and that his welterweight voyage will come to a successful conclusion.
Like Josh said, if he didn’t believe he could become a two-weight world champion, he would call it a day and put his feet up at home instead of spending weeks on end training away in Liverpool.
It will be fascinating to see this fight unfold, as will be another crackerjack of a fight between two hugely talented Scots in Nathaniel Collins and Lee McGregor, who are set to go to war for the coveted WBC Silver featherweight title.
Both of these men have highly impressive credentials, with Nathaniel winning British, Commonwealth and EBU Silver before illness took him out of the game for a period. Lee won so much, so early, becoming Commonwealth, British and European champion in the fastest time for a British fighter.
His career came off the boil for a while, but he seized his moment over in Riyadh at the end of last year by defeating Isaac Lowe and now he is properly in the featherweight frame.
Glasgow tonight gets to witness the best young heavyweight in the world in action. Moses Itauma will fight Mike Balogun in just his 12th fight as a pro and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was fighting for a world title before the year is out.
This young man is very, very special and I am delighted to bring him to Scotland.
We have another potential humdinger at cruiserweight, with our young force of nature Aloys Jr going up against an experienced and dangerous Scot in David Jamieson. Like Moses, I believe Aloys has got that something about him that will take him to the very top, but he will need to be on his guard tonight against a fired up home fighter.
Also keep an eye out for a 10-round Scottish title fight at middleweight between Aston Brown and Reece Porter. These national titles always seem to bring out the best in fighters and I believe this is one not to be missed.
Featuring on the undercard we have Queensberry’s growing Scottish contingent, headed up by Drew Limond having his fourth fight at welterweight. It was a special moment for me when his dad Willie brought him down to sign with us.
We’ve got another father and son connection with Alex Arthur Jr making his professional debut. After one of his dad’s world title fights, young Alex jumped into the post-fight interview and told me he would sign with me one day. And here we are now.
Also making his debut is recent Queensberry signing Reece Lynch, who is a special talent and was an exceptional amateur, medalling for Scotland at a Senior World championships and being the first to do so, also winning Commonwealth gold.
I wish all three every success tonight and beyond and I hope they all enjoy the experience of fighting in front of a bumper Scottish crowd at this great arena.
Before I close, I would like to extend my thanks, as always, to our wonderful sponsors Riyadh Season, 32Red, Global Next Trade, Unibet and That Prize Guy for their magnificent support, along with the Global Home of Boxing, DAZN. Most of all, my appreciation goes to you, the fans, for coming out in support of the boxers and making the watching of live boxing such a special experience.
I hope you enjoy your evening.
Best wishes
Frank Warren
