Fight Academy’s Reece Cartwright gets a dream opportunity this Saturday (March 26) when he takes on British Light Heavyweight champion Dan Azeez at Wembley Arena, live on Sky Sports.
Champion Azeez was originally scheduled to face Matthew Tinker but, after his withdrawal, Cartwright now steps in as a very late replacement – though the British belt won’t be on the line.
Azeez, 32, is a real handful. The unbeaten Lewisham man has 10 KOs from 15 fights and impressed in November last year when he stopped Hosea Burton to win the Lonsdale Belt.
Reece will bring more experience to the ring. A pro since 2014, the Leeds fighter has lost just twice in 25 – with one of those a highly controversial defeat to Shakan Pitters last time out in November.
With less than 24 hours to go until first bell, Fight Academy’s Dennis Hobson has said he was more than happy to work in partnership with fellow promoter Ben Shalom from BOXXER, and believes Reece will give a great account of himself.
“I got a call from Ben who asked if we could help out the Sky Sports show, with Azeez’s opponent dropping out. We’re all about working with other promoters and although Reece is a Fight Academy and Fightzone fighter, this is a great opportunity for him.
“Although it was too late notice to have the fight sanctioned for the British Title, make no mistake if Reece beats Dan then he will fight for it next. Reece was supposed to be fighting on our Rotherham show next Sunday [April 3] so, although it is extremely short notice, he has been in training.
“Reece gave Shakan Pitters all the trouble he could handle in his last fight, and the referee stopped that one too early. Azeez has looked really good but Reece will be bringing a lot of experience to the table and although we still think he could campaign at super middleweight, this is a great chance for him to blow apart the light heavyweight scene.
“Reece is a proper fighter and I can assure you that he isn’t going into this fight to make up the numbers!”
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