The BOXXER Series is coming up this weekend and talkSPORT will bring you live coverage of the fast and ferocious boxing tournament.
The evening will see eight super-lightweight pitted against each other in a knockout competition in Liverpool.
The bouts will be three rounds of three minutes and the night’s champion will have to come through three fights to take the crown.
The action will take place at the M&S Bank Arena on Merseyside and is guaranteed to produce some explosive encounters as boxers look for decisive wins to guarantee their passage to the next round.
A massive £100,000 prize money – the largest ever payout in UK boxing tournament history – is on the line for the winner.
And talkSPORT will be in Liverpool to bring you all the action live.
The BOXXER Series: Live commentary
talkSPORT’s Fight Night Live be come from Liverpool this weekend with the BOXXER Series taking centre-stage.
Ade Oladipo and Gareth A Davies will be your hosts for the night with Alex Steedman and Spencer Oliver on commentary duty.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2, click HERE for the live stream.
- App iPhone – Download from the Apple store
- Android – Download from Google Play
- Radio – talkSPORT is available across the United Kingdom via DAB digital radio and on 1089 or 1053 AM
- TV – Listen to talkSPORT through your TV on the following channels: Sky: Channel 0108 Virgin Media: Channel 927 Freeview: Channel 723 Freesat: Channel 731
The BOXXER Series: The draw
Here are the draw results for the quarter finals…
- 1. Kane Gardener v Nathan Bennett
- 2. Tom Farrell v Ben Fields
- 3. Lee Appleyard v Levi Kinsiona
- 4. Sean Dodds v Cori Gibbs
The BOXXER Series: The fighters
Sean Dodd (17-5-1, 3 KO’s)
37 – Birkenhead – Shorts: Light Blue
The coronavirus pandemic put former Commonwealth Lightweight champion Dodd in a dark place. No events, no income: unable even to afford heating his home and with an empty fridge, he then had to contend with separating from his partner, who took their children with her.
Struggling with dejection, Dodd decided to turn hardship to his advantage. “Now I embrace the cold, the discomfort, the hunger. It toughens the spirit. Fasting is good for the body. I feel healthier than I ever have. Superhuman, even,” he says.
Boxing offered young Dodd a lifeline when he was a teenage tearaway on a bad path. Now it may offer him another: winning the tournament will pay him the biggest prize money of his career and put him in line for big opportunities in 2022.
Holds previous wins over fellow tournament fighters Tom Farrell, Lee Appleyard and Nathan Bennett.
Nathan Bennett (9-2, 2 KO’s)
28 – Liverpool – Shorts: Yellow
Born in Anfield, Liverpool a stone’s throw from the LFC stadium, Bennett is a Liverpool lad to the bone.
He comes from a boxing family on both sides – his father boxed amateur and didn’t go pro only because of injuries sustained in a car crash. All his uncles on his mother’s side also boxed.
His cousin Neil Perkins was Team GB captain (team included James De Gale, David Price) and won “everything you can win in UK amateur boxing”.
Bennett started boxing at 13, taken to the Kirkdale gym by his father (who had also boxed out of this gym, as had his mother’s brothers). He won two national titles as an amateur.
“I’m a boxer-puncher so this tournament suits me perfectly,” he says. “I’m looking forward to hearing that support I’ll have there and winning that prize money live on Sky Sports. Then hopefully some big opportunities next year.”
Tom Farrell (18-4, 5 KO’s)
31 – Liverpool – Shorts: Red
Proud Liverpudlian Tom Farrell started boxing at the age of 16 and considers himself a late starter in some ways, given that many professionals are 10 years old or younger when they first start training.
“I don’t have as many miles on the clock as some of these other guys, I feel young, fresh. But I am not thinking about these other guys. Let them worry about me,” says the former WBA International Super-Lightweight Champion, who boxed at Goodison Park in May 2016 on the Tony Bellew undercard.
Farrell has sparred with such elite operators as Liam Smith, Anthony Crolla and Jack Catterall and sees tournament victory here tonight as a springboard to title contention next year.
Ben Fields (10-10, 2 KO’s)
32 – Digbeth – Shorts: Black
Homeless and hooked on crack and heroin by his late teens, Ben Fields is genuinely lucky to be alive. Released from yet another jail sentence at the age of 27, he swore never to go back. In search of the strictest discipline possible, he walked into a boxing gym. He’s been back every day since.
After six months training and no amateur experience, he began competing on white-collar shows and soon went into licensed professional boxing. He has a big reputation on the small hall scene, known as a fighter who never takes a backwards step and isn’t afraid to take one to land one.
Five years on from his first step into a boxing gym, Fields is clean, sober and a solid following thanks to his utter fearlessness and a fan-friendly style. He’s been to the dark side and he’s beaten his demons: nothing in the ring can scare him and an eight-man tournament is just another challenge to be faced.
Lee Appleyard (17-6-1, 5 KO’s)
33 – Rotherham – Shorts: Green
A keen rugby player in his youth with the potential to go pro, Appleyard had to leave the sport as a teenager due to a lingering shin ailment caused by “my brother breaking my shin with a golf club when I wanted a go of his video game.”
Professional since the age of 24, Appleyard is a fan favourite in his native Yorkshire. “I go 100 miles an hour, always forward, non stop. I’m looking forward to showing that on Sky Sports and for the fans in Liverpool.”
Trained by veteran coach, manager and promoter Stefy Bull, Appleyard fights for the love of the game and the entertainment of the audience. He’s stated an intention to throw caution to the wind in tonight’s tournament in favour of a full-speed-ahead approach aimed at finishing fights early.
Kane Gardner (11-1, 6 KO’s)
26 – Manchester – Shorts: Orange
‘Sugar’ Kane Gardner owes his nickname to the great Sugar Ray Robinson, who is the chief idol and inspiration for the Manchester man when it comes to boxing. “Fast, elusive, stopped his opponents with workrate, broke them down – that’s what I do.”
Gardner started boxing at 9 years old in the local youth centre (“My mum got peace and quiet for just 50p a session”) and had his first bout aged 10. It was the start of a glittering amateur career.
He went on to win the Northern Area title and box for England as an amateur, as well as winning the University Championships (he boxed for Salford University while doing a degree in Exercise and Health) before finally turning professional.
Cori Gibbs (13-0, 3 KO’s)
26 – Birmingham – Shorts: Purple
Birmingham boxer Cori Gibbs is a man of few words – he prefers to let his hands do the talking, as does his brother Tion, also a professional boxer.
“Cori is an anomaly. All the young people you look at, they are glued to their phones all day – sometimes Cori doesn’t even own one,” laughs his long-time coach.
In lieu of telecommunications, Gibbs’ hands have made solid statements on his behalf: as an amateur he was a Team GB member and England international, four-time England national champion, one-time GB champion and two-time Haringey Cup champion.
Gibbs remains undefeated as a professional and is confident of retaining that status by the end of the night.
Levi Kinsiona (8-1, 1 KO)
25 – Sheffield – Shorts: Blue
One of eight brothers, all of whom box, Kinsiona is as proud of his home city of Sheffield as he is of his Congolese heritage and wants his boxing exploits to honor both.
“The more successful I am, the more people will be forced to learn how to pronounce my surname properly,” he laughs. “Like Muhammad Ali did with Joe Frazier – say my name!”
His eldest brother Dan boxed for England, while Levi won two national titles and also boxed in the Yorkshire Finals in the elites category.
Kinsiona speaks three languages – English, French and Lingala – and was on the books with Sheffield United as a teenager before opting for boxing, hence the red and white kit he wears to the ring.
Now in his third year of a degree in Sport Development at Sheffield University, Kinisona is bringing brains to the ring. “The game is hit and not get hit. These other guys are going to come rushing in, bulling forwards, brawling. I won’t be there to get hit. I’m not getting banged up before the tournament final.”