There was a bit of welcome relief for European welterweight champion David Avanesyan (27-3-1, 15 KOs) today after news broke that he will defend his belt against Liam Taylor next month, live on Sky Sports.
Boxing Social has been told that Avanesyan was asked to give up his title to clear the way for Conor Benn to contest the vacant belt despite making it clear that he would have preferred a fight against the Essex contender.
Instead, Avanesyan will now face Middleton’s Taylor (23-1-1, 11 KOs) at Wembley Arena on October 2 as Sky make their return to boxing, following Eddie Hearn’s decision to take his stable of fighters over to the DAZN app. Avanesyan stopped the then-undefeated Josh Kelly in six back in February in a European title defence and had hoped to be out on at least two more occasions this year.
Boxing Social previously reported that Avanesyan was actively seeking a showdown with Benn when the two men were promoted by Hearn, but the 33-year-old could not secure the contest and has decided to move on to keep active. He will hope to beat Taylor before moving into a more fruitful and productive 2022.
Neil Marsh, Avanesyan’s manager, reacted to the news by telling Boxing Social that he is happy that the Russian will be active again.
“I’m delighted to get David out again so he’s not sat on the fence again because of the way the politics in boxing have played out these last few years,” said Marsh.
“We actively sought a showdown with Benn and some other welterweights under the Matchroom banner, but they all failed to materialise and we have now terminated our agreement with them.
“Big respect to Liam Taylor, David is the avoided one and Liam has stepped up to fight him. Trust me, no one wanted this fight and I hear people didn’t want to give Liam an opportunity either so you can forget all these well built-up fighters out there who just talk — this is a real fight between two true fighters who will fight anyone.
“Liam came over to David on Saturday night at the BT show, told him to enjoy the camp and expect a war,” he added. “This isn’t an easy fight. Liam will bring everything. We are just happy that David will be out there fighting again and defending his European title.”
Main image: Matchroom Boxing.