The Magnificent 7 Preview

The Magnificent 7 Preview

By Matt Elliott

Amidst all the excitement of the last few days, with the announcement of the huge December 23 ‘Day of Reckoning’ show in Saudi Arabia, followed up with confirmation that the undisputed heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will finally take place on February 17, you could be forgiven for forgetting that there is an excellent domestic event this weekend, as Queensberry Promotions present ‘The Magnificent 7’ at the AO Arena in Manchester.

When the show was first announced a couple of months ago, it immediately drew praise from the boxing community, as we rejoiced at what, on paper at least, appears to be the best UK-based card of 2023 so far. The only shame is that the hype that should be surrounding the event has been somewhat diluted after recent announcements.

On a night that includes six title fights, the main event sees Nick Ball take on Isaac Dogboe in a final eliminator for the WBC featherweight title. This has all the ingredients to be an explosive headliner and one that is unlikely to go the scheduled twelve-round distance. Ball (18-0) has won his last five fights via TKO, including two first-round stoppages, while Dogboe (24-3) boasts fifteen KOs from his twenty-four victories, his three losses coming against top-level opponents, as he failed twice in succession to overcome Emanuel Navarrete, and last time out he suffered a unanimous points defeat to Robeisy Ramirez as they battled it out for the vacant WBO featherweight title. This is a big step up for Ball and promises to be a mouthwatering showdown.

Liam Davies won the EBU European super-bantamweight title last time out, with a first-round demolition of Jason Cunningham in his hometown of Telford, and he defends the belt for the first time as he faces Vincenzo La Femina. Davies has been riding the crest of a wave since he beat Marc Leach in June of last year, and this is another step up as he takes on the unbeaten Italian.

There is an intriguing clash for the British and WBA Continental middleweight titles as Denzel Bentley takes on Nathan Heaney. This fight is the third defence of the British title for Bentley, who won it in May 2022 by defeating Linus Udofia. He will be the clear favourite in this fight and is someone many believe can move through the levels, proving in his defeat to Zhanibek Alimkhanuly last November that he has the ability to do so. Heaney acknowledges this is a big step up for him, and he will undoubtedly be cheered on by strong support as he looks to spring an upset.

Ekow Essuman faces Harry Scarff for the British, Commonwealth and IBF European welterweight belts. Essuman, the current champion, is undefeated in his nineteen professional fights, overcoming strong opposition in Samuel Antwi and Chris Kongo in his last two fights. Scarff comes into this one on the back of four consecutive victories, which followed his two career defeats which came against Anthony Fowler and Troy Williamson.

There is a Queensberry debut for Hannah Rankin who penned a promotional deal with Frank Warren at the beginning of October, as she faces Ema Kozin for the vacant WBC super welterweight title. Rankin, who previously held the WBA and IBO titles at this weight, before defeat to Terri Harper, returned to winning ways last time out but faces a tough-looking test against Kozin, whose only career defeat came at the hands of Claressa Shields.

The British and Commonwealth featherweight belts are on the line as Nathaniel Collins meets Zak Miller. The undefeated Collins, who won the Commonwealth title against Felix Williams back in 2021 and added the British belt with victory over James Beech Jnr in March, has an identical record to Miller, with both men winning all thirteen of their fights to date, and there is every chance this one goes the distance.

The final title fight is a replacement to the originally scheduled meeting between Anthony Cacace and Ryan Garner, the former suffering a wrist injury which forced the fight to be cancelled. In its place is an English heavyweight championship clash between Soloman Dacres and Michael Webster. Dacres comes into this one as the favourite but could get a surprise against the man from Middlesbrough. Webster only fought two weeks ago, defeating Joe Nakavulevu inside one round, after original opponent Nick Campbell withdrew, and he will be looking to make the most of this opportunity.    

There are two other scheduled fights. Callum Thompson faces Joshua Ocampo in the lightweight division and Amaar Akbar takes on Christian Lopez Flores at super lightweight.

The action will be live on TNT Sports.