Big time boxing arrives on BT Sport on Saturday April 8 as we host a massive show from the Manchester Arena.
All the action is live on BT Sport 1 from 8.30pm and will also be available to watch right here on BTSport.com and via the award winning BT Sport App.
In what promises to be a dramatic night of action, WBO world lightweight champion Terry Flanagan tops the bill as he defends his belt against tough Russian Petr Petrov in front of his home fans.
The stacked card also sees domestic rivals Liam Smith and Liam Williams clash for the interim WBO world super welterweight title, while double Olympic champion Nicola Adams and the highly rated Daniel Dubois makes their professional debuts.
Then, later that evening, BT Sport Pack subscribers will be able to catch Vasyl Lomachenko’s defence of his WBO world super-featherweight title against Jason Sosa live on BoxNation as part of the ground-breaking deal that sees the UK’s only specialist boxing channel made available to BT Sport Pack subscribers at no extra cost.
And if you are not yet a subscriber to BT Sport we can set you up in just 15 minutes here.
Terry Flanagan v Petr Petrov
Terry Flanagan defends his WBO world lightweight crown when he faces Madrid-based Russian Petr Petrov over 12 rounds.
Undefeated Flanagan (32-0, 13 KOs) holds the longest current unbeaten run in British boxing and will be making the fifth defence of his crown since winning the vacant belt by stopping Jose Zepeda in July 2015.
Since then the 27-year-old has grown into the role of champion and convincing wins over Diego Magdaleno, Derry Mathews, Mzonke Fana and Orlando Cruz have seen him become one of the biggest names in the division.
The Manchester City fanatic has been vocal about his desire to face the best and is targeting a showdown against pound for pound king Vasyl Lomachenko at the Etihad.
However, before such an outing is possible Flanagan will need to get past the tough and underrated Petrov.
Petrov (38-4-2, 19 KOs) has twice challenged for the world title before and his only two defeats since 2007 came to Marcos Maidana and Dejan Zlaticanin. The 33-year-old is the WBO’s second-ranked contender behind Felix Verdejo.
Liam Williams v Liam Smith
The potential fight of the night sees Liam Williams face Liam Smith in a mouth-watering domestic clash for the interim WBO world super welterweight title.
However, bragging rights will be just as important on the night after the pair heavily goaded each other in the build-up – with Smith especially vocal in his opinion that he is class above his Welsh rival.
The 28-year-old Liverpudlian has certainly boxed at a higher level having previously held the WBO world super welterweight title before facing Saul ‘Canelo’ Alverez at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Although Smith was knocked out by a body shot in the eighth round he wasn’t outclassed and believes he will have far too much for a still green Williams.
Williams, unsurprisingly, sees it differently. The 24-year-old won the vacant WBO European super welterweight title in his last outing – an eighth round stoppage win over Gabor Gorbics in Cardiff last November - and also holds a win over the previously undefeated Gary Corcoran.
The professional debut of Nicola Adams
Two time Olympic champion Nicola Adams needs no introduction to fight fans who witnessed her skill and power at the London and Rio de Janeiro Games.
The 34-year-old rejected the chance to make it a hat-trick at Tokyo in order to give herself the chance of emulating her hero Muhammed Ali and winning a world title in the paid ranks.
Expect the fighter – who veteran promoter Frank Warren admits has changed his opinion about women boxing – to be fast tracked to elite level.
The rest of the undercard
There is an intriguing crossroads clash as the undefeated Jack Catterall steps up in class to face the experienced Martin Gethin for the WBO inter-continental super lightweight title.
Catterall, who made his name by knocking out London 2012 Olympian Thomas Stalker, has looked imperious in his last few fights and will be keen to make a statement against former British champion Gethin.
Former Tyson Fury sparring partner and amateur champion Daniel Dubois makes also makes his professional debut on the card.
Dubois tipped as a potential Tokyo 2020 medallist hopeful but instead opted to chase his dream of becoming the youngest ever British-born heavyweight world champion.
The impressive Zolani Tete, who ended Paul Butler’s unbeaten run in 2015, faces Arthur Villanueva.
Full card:
Terry Flanagan v Petr Petrov (lightweight) for the WBO world lightweight title
Liam Williams v Liam Smith (super welterweight) for the interim WBO world super welterweight title.
Nicola Adams v TBA (flyweight)
Jack Catterall v Martin Gethin (super lightweight) for the WBO inter-continental super lightweight title
Daniel Dubois v TBA (heavyweight)
Zolani Tete v Arthur Villanueva (bantamweight)
'Jimmy' Kilrain Kelly v Rick Godding (super welterweight)
Steven Lewis v Andy Keates (super welterweight)
Mark Heffron v TBA (super middleweight)
Zelfa Barrett v TBA (super featherweight)
Mason Cartwright v Justin Menzie (super welterweight)
Jordan Thompson v TBA (cruiserweight)
Anthony Leak v TBA (middleweight)
Vasyl Lomachenko v Jason Sosa
Vasyl Lomachenko defends his WBO world super-featherweight title against Jason Sosa at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland.
The Ukrainian, who knocked out the previously undefeated Nicholas Walters in his last outing, takes on New Jersey’s Sosa – who himself relinquished the WBA world title in order to allow the contest to go ahead.
Lomachenko, a double Olympic champion and widely regarded as one of the best amateur boxers to ever lace up a pair of gloves, has looked imperious in his last few contests after jumping straight into the elite level of the paid ranks.
The 29-year-old fought for a world title in just his second contest as a professional and, while that effort ended in a split decision to an overweight Orlando Salido, won the title in his third bout against the then undefeated Gary Russell Jr.
Victories over Suriya Tatakhun, Gamalier Rodriguez and Romulo Koasicha followed before he jumped up a weight division to knockout Roman Martinez for the WBO world super featherweight title.
The breakdown of the hard-hitting Walters cemented his place in the pound for pound listings and it is surely only a matter of time before ‘Hi-Tech’ again moves up in weight to challenge the very biggest names in the sport.
However, he has a very dangerous opponent in Sosa to deal with first.
The American stunned the world last June by dethroning Javier Fortuna in Beijing with a dramatic late stoppage victory, handing Fortuna his first loss and collecting his first world title in the process.
In his maiden defence, Sosa convincingly beat popular Liverpudlian Stephen Smith over 12 in Monte Carlo to set up this huge clash.
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