MVP Birmingham: Gemma Richardson vs. Kirstie Bavington
On August 29th in Birmingham, the exciting and undefeated prospect Gemma Richardson gets the toughest test of her career to date when she takes on the experienced Kirstie Bavington in a six-round super-lightweight bout on a card that will be headlined by that intriguing world super-welterweight unification showdown between Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron.
The former two-time European welterweight champion will tell us plenty about just how far Richardson can go in the professional ranks. The achievements of Bavington have always somewhat gone under the radar. Winning a European title once needs respect. To do it twice says everything. Bavington (10-5-2) has now dropped down in weight to chase new challenges. The 33-year-old is targeting the world title. A victory over the highly-regarded former GB stalwart will push her a little closer to that.
After her Olympic dreams were taken away from her in such cruel circumstances, Richardson turned professional last year and has impressed immensely in her new world. Four fights. Four wins. The amateur pedigree promised a golden future, and the 24-year-old hasn’t put a foot wrong so far. But Bavington is a significant step up for the blue-chip prospect.
Outside of that, can’t miss main event, Gemma Richardson vs. Kirstie Bavington, could be one of those fights that generates plenty of headlines in the aftermath of MVP’s second excursion to UK soil. It is an excellent piece of matchmaking. The only slight criticism is that it deserves to be at least an eight-round fight. But regardless of that minor quibble, Mayer vs. Cameron aside, it’s almost certainly the best pure fight on the card. Two fighters at different stages of their careers, albeit with similar ambitions. Both deserve credit for rolling the dice.
FightPost: Boxing & MMA News 