Rabchenko Eyes Big British Clash On Horizon

ByBoxing Press

Sergey Rabchenko wants to face British light-middleweight champion – Brian Rose.

The Manchester-based Belarussian makes the first defence of his European crown against Frenchman Cedric Vitu (35-1), at Manchester Arena on Saturday.

Rabchenko (21-0) is trained by Ricky Hatton who headlines Saturday’s card when he returns in a ten rounder against Vyacheslav Senchenko.

Rabchenko, 26, said: “While I respect the value of Vitu, who has an excellent pedigree, I am totally confident that I shall win and keep my European title, thanks to the preparation for this challenge under the guidance of Ricky Hatton and Mike Jackson.

“We’ll sit down, after this, with Ricky Hatton, Philippe Fondu and Valery Kaplia to see what will be the best possible opponents to go further with my career.

“Personally, I would love to box the winner of Brian Rose v Sam Webb, as this is certainly a fight that the British public would like to see.

“I’d be happy to give the British champion an opportunity to compete for the European title”.

Rabchenko who has knocked out 16 of his opponents stopped Ryan Rhodes in seven rounds in June to claim his Euro crown.

He added: “I might be talking of Rose and Webb but I am not overlooking Vitu.”

There is world title action on the bill when Martin Murray (24-0-1) boxes Venezulan Jorge Navarro (12-0) for the vacant WBA interim middleweight crown.

Also, Scott Quigg (24-0-1) meets Rendall Munroe (24-2-1) in a vacant WBA interim super-bantamweight title return match. Their summer showdown ended in a technical draw after three rounds because of Munroe’s cut right eye.

There is more title action when Gary Buckland (26-2) put his British super-featherweight crown on the line against Stephen Foster Jr (30-3-1).

Also in action are Hatton Promotions hopefuls – Ashley Theophane (32-5-1), Zhanat Zhakiyanov (18-1), James Dickens (12-0), Adam Etches (9-0) and Scott Jenkins (6-0), Mitch Buckland (3-0) and Sam O’Maison (3-0).

Ricky Hatton vs. Vyacheslav Senchenko will be shown live on Primetime, Channel 498 on Sky and Virgin-On-Demand, on Saturday 24th November for only £14.95. To order call 0871 200 4444 or go online to www.primetimeboxing.co.uk.