Scotty Cardle can win the Lord Lonsdale belt outright when he defends his British Lightweight title against Robbie Barrett at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on April 15, live on Sky Sports.
Cardle puts the coveted strap on the line for the fourth time in Scotland, but with a draw in his second defence and rematch against Sean ‘Masher’ Dodd last April, the unbeaten 27 year old needs to see off Barrett to claim the crown for keeps after stoppage wins over Dodd in November 2015 and Kevin Hooper in Glasgow in October.
Barrett is full of confidence going into the bout having landed the English strap on enemy territory in Birmingham against Marcus Ffrench in October and then defeated Hooper in his first defence in March.
Cardle put mandatory challenger Hooper away in style inside six rounds with a clinical display of his own, and the Lytham St Annes man wants another stand-out performance to seal the belt and move on to target European honours.
“I’m over the moon to be getting the chance to win the belt outright,” said Cardle. “I’ve defended it many times now but with the draw I need one more to get my hands on it – and that’s always been the aim, it’s something special and what I’ve always dreamed of.
“The last time I boxed in Glasgow I thought that was the one for me to win it outright, but it’s no stress to fight for it again as I’m proud to be British champion and I love defending it, and to do it in Glasgow is special for me and my family.
“I’d sparred a few times with Kevin but that’s all I had to go on to prepare for the fight, and he got the better of me in those spars to be honest so I was a bit nervous. I knew I had to be at my best and luckily enough I was, I felt great and I’m hoping to produce the same clinical performance as that.
“I haven’t seen much of Robbie, but Kevin has told me a bit about him and I leave that to Joe to study. He’s a southpaw and a good boxer coming off two strong wins, so we’ll look back to my performances against Southpaws like Maxi Hughes and Craig Evans and make sure I’m on that kind of form.
“I don’t want to stand still, there’s a place on my mantelpiece for the Lonsdale belt and once I’ve got that for keeps I want to move on through the stages. The Lightweight scene in Britain is a World scene anyway; Terry Flanagan is a World champion and Luke Campbell is at World level, so if I do fight those guys I am moving forward.
“I really want the European title next, I’d love to fight Edis Tatli and I’d be more than happy to go to Finland to take it from him – I’ve boxed all over the world as an amateur so that wouldn’t faze me in the slightest.”
Cardle’s clash with Barrett is part of a huge night of action in Glasgow as WBA World Super-Lightweight champion Ricky Burns looks to unify against IBF king Julius Indongo.
Cardle’s gym-mate Callum Johnson defends his Commonwealth Light-Heavyweight title against Schiller Hyppolite and Charlie Edwards and Iain Butcher clash for the vacant British Super-Flyweight title.
Charlie Flynn fights for his first pro title as he faces Ryan Collins for the Celtic Lightweight title, Joe Ham takes on Scott McCormack for the Scottish Super-Bantamweight title and Team GB Olympian Josh Kelly makes his pro debut.
Tickets for April 15 are on general sale priced £40, £60 and £100 from www.thessehydro.com and £200 VIP exclusively at www.matchroomboxing.com.
Mcgoldrick Signs With Matchroom Boxing
Sean McGoldrick has signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing and will make his debut on the undercard of the World Lightweight unification clash between Anthony Crolla and Jorge Linares at the Manchester Arena on March 25, live on Sky Sports.
The Welsh 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and 2014 bronze medal man will kick off life in the paid ranks at Bantamweight, where he picked up his medals in Delhi and Glasgow.
The 24 year old former Team GB Podium squad member kicks off life in the pro ranks in a fortnight’s time and the Tony Borg trained Newport talent can’t wait to lace them up.
“I am so excited to be turning pro,” said McGoldrick. “When any boxer starts out, they want to be champion of the world, but when you get into the amateur set up you realise there is more to it than just having a couple of fights and then turning pro.
“I set myself new goals in the amateurs, to win medals and to progress, and now I’ve turned pro, I go back to that goal of wanting to become a World champion and the best I can be.
“I’m raring to go now. Eddie likes to get his guys boxing all over the country and I’d love to do that. Eddie puts on the best shows in the UK and some of the best in the world, and I just can’t wait to be a part of it on the cards of the likes of Anthony Joshua and Kell Brook, fighters that I really look up to and it’ll be an honour to fight on their bills and hopefully I can do myself justice and perform on the big stage.”
“I’m delighted to welcome Sean to the team,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Sean had a stellar amateur career with Team GB and I am excited to see him move quickly through the pro ranks and challenge for major honours.”
McGoldrick’s debut is part of a huge night of action in Manchester topped by Crolla’s revenge mission against Linares.
There’s a crossroads battle of Blackpool as Middleweights Brian Rose and Jack Arnfield lock horns. Martin J. Ward defends his British Super-Featherweight title against Maxi Hughes in their third clash in the paid ranks, Marcus Morrison defends his WBC International Middleweight strap against Jason Welborn, while his Joe Gallagher gym-mate Hosea Burton looks to bounce back into title contention from his epic battle with Frank Buglioni, Irish sensation Katie Taylor fights for the fourth time as a pro, while there’s also action for Tomi Tatham, Ben Sheedy and Nathan Wheatley.
Tickets are on sale priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 and available from www.manchesterarena.com or by calling 0844 847 8000. VIPs tickets are exclusively available through www.matchroomboxing.com priced at £250.
Face value tickets for March 25 will also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.