FRAMPTON TO DEFEND COMMONWEALTH BELT IN SHEFFIELD

arl Frampton will make the second defence of his Commonwealth Super-Bantamweight title as the chief-support bout on the undercard of Kell Brook vs. Matthew Hatton at the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield on March 17.

Frampton delivered a punch-perfect performance in his first defense on Saturday (January 28) with a stunning seventh-round knockout of Kris Hughes at York Hall, Bethnal Green. Barry McGuigan’s protégé moved to 12-0 as a pro in front of a sold-out east London crowd and the 24-year-old will fight in front of the biggest crowd of his career so far on March 17 before Brook and Hatton meet in their blockbusting Welterweight clash.

“It’s a wonderful bill for Carl to fight on,” said McGuigan. “The arena will be full of true discerning boxing fans who will be eager to see Carl in the flesh. We are anxious to keep him busy this year to solidify his position as the most exciting Super-Bantamweight in Britain and he is chomping at the bit to be involved in this massive night for British boxing.”

Also on the undercard, former British Welterweight champion Lee Purdy will hope to get back on track against Nottingham’s Adnan Amar. Purdy claimed the British strap with a fine fifth-round stoppage win over Craig Watson at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester in April and then repeated that feat in a rematch in Watson’s backyard of Oldham three months later. He faced Colin Lynes in his second defense at York Hall in November with a chance to claim the Lonsdale belt for keeps, but Lynes tore up the form book to take the belt on points.

John Ryder steps into double figures as a pro on the night, taking on Alistair Warren in an eight-round middleweight clash. Ryder, 23, picked up his sixth win inside the distance on the Frampton-Hughes undercard with a second-round stoppage of Mariusz Biskupski taking his unbeaten run to 9-0. Standing in the way of the Islington man’s perfect ten is Huddersfield’s Alistair Warren (8-1-1), the 24-year-old who fought for the WBC Youth Super-Middleweight title in November 2010, losing to Hugo Kasperski.

Amateur star Scott Cardle makes his professional debut at Lightweight on the night, while unbeaten Dudley Middleweight Ryan Aston faces Barnsley’s Lee Noble and Sheffield Heavyweight David Howe also features. Tickets for Kell Brook vs. Matthew Hatton with Scott Cardle’s debut on the undercard priced £30 (tiered), £60 (tiered/floor) and £100 (ringside) are available from the Motorpoint Arena Sheffield Box Office on 0114 256 5656 or online at www.motorpointarenasheffield.co.uk

£40 tickets and £150 VIP tickets have now sold out.

Press release courtesy of Matchroom Sport. Images courtesy of Lawrence Lustig.