The electrifying main event between Jack Catterall and Ohara Davies could find itself vying for ‘Fight of the Night’ honours this Saturday, as Frank Warren takes two exciting, undefeated prospects to task in Leicester.
Lyon Woodstock (11-0, 5 KO’s), the current WBO European champion at super-featherweight, returns to action following a points victory over Edwin Tellez. Tellez experienced his eleventh defeat on the trot, yet gave the Leicester resident valuable rounds in the run-up to this contest. Vocal; visible on Social Media and joined by a rowdy team at yesterday’s press conference, Woodstock is a sizeable favourite with the bookmakers ahead of his fight with Archie Sharp and has oozed confidence during fight week’s activities.
Welling’s pride, Archie Sharp (13-0, 7 KO’s), is looking to seize his opportunity on BT Sports in what could arguably be his only real test to date. Impressing in previous contests, the glaringly obvious record of journeymen and fighters with losing records serves to shadow his true potential. Sharp is a massive 5/2 outsider, stepping up in class to try and wrestle his first professional title and more-than-likely assume a position in the World’s top-fifteen.
The build-up to the fight has been conducted mainly via Twitter, with Woodstock continuing his entertaining rants which have included sharing a ‘Missing’ poster after Sharp decided to avoid the head-to-head at Thursday’s presser. His confident, brash demeanour isn’t everyones cup of tea, but it’s seemingly been the perfect way to disrupt his opponent’s focus. Flashy, fast hands and a proven desire to dig deep (re: Craig Poxton fight) could be his keys to victory as he demonstrates fluid movement and picks shots from unorthodox angles.
Whilst MTK Global’s former six-time national amateur champion Sharp is lacking an impressive name on his resume, his progress has been steady. His fundamentals are extremely well-polished, his conditioning is fantastic and he will have the bit-between-his-teeth following the personal build-up to his biggest test. Can Archie rise to the occasion? Has Woodstock’s approach to the pre-fight antics added an emotional element to the challenger’s performance?
Many keen boxing fans reckon Sharp is great value for a victory, but fighting away from home against Woodstock will undoubtedly be his coming-of-age bout – either too early or right on time.
The super-featherweight division in the UK is in a state of transition. James Tennyson looks towards his IBF World title shot with Tevin Farmer, Stephen Smith is once again looking to rebuild and names such as Ronnie Clark and Zelfa Barrett are also in the ascendancy, clamouring for British title shots. Both Woodstock and Sharp will be looking towards big, domestic clashes in the near future and this fight on Saturday in Leicester is the perfect springboard for an assault on more meaningful titles.
Will it be a victory for the professional, humble Archie Sharp? Or can the swagger of Leicester’s Lyon confidently prove himself right?
Article by: Craig Scott
Follow Craig on Twitter at: @craigscott209