HALIFAX bantamweight Scott Gladwin can be a TV star tonight.
He is up against Khalid Yafai on the big Kell Brook bill in Sheffield, which is being screened live by Sky from the Motorpoint Arena.
It’s a significant test for Gladwin against Yafai, who won an Olympic bronze medal in Beijing but didn’t get in the London 2012 team and now has a professional record of three fights, three wins.
“It’s a tough fight for Scott, but if he can win it would be great on such a big bill and with so many TV viewers,” said trainer Chris Aston.
Meanwhile, stablemate Tyrone Nurse’s hopes of a title fight failed to materialise while his opponent has changed at the last minute – but the Huddersfield boxer knows tonight’s Sheffield showdown with Santos Medrano can help him add steel to his pursuit of success.
The eight-round light-middleweight meeting with the Barcelona-based Nicaraguan replaces a planned bout against Frenchman Yves Mesney on the undercard of a bill headed by popular Brook, who faces Hector Saldivia in an IBF welterweight title eliminator.
Many of the big hitters of boxing’s promoting world will be present, and 22-year-old Nurse, who will be going into the ring for the 25th time having been beaten just the once, reckons his patient approach will soon pay off.
“I knew from early on in my career that it was going to be a steady process,” explained Nurse.
“I was so young, I wasn’t mature. Staying active was the plan, and I’ve managed to build up a nice little fanbase by fighting on a lot of smaller bills. Now I’m ready to intensify things and make this a really big year.”
