Collision On The Coast | Garner vs Jimenez Programme

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Good Evening everybody and welcome to the Bournemouth International Centre for Queensberry’s maiden show at this fantastic venue on the South Coast.

I am genuinely thrilled to be staging a major promotion down here and I hope this is the first of many and it can become a regular feature.

To make this become a reality, we are particularly pinning our hopes on The Piranha, our Southampton starlet Ryan Garner, who challenges for the vacant European super featherweight title tonight against the undefeated Spaniard Salvador Jimenez.

We wanted to make our opening voyage south a special occasion with a cracking fight topping the bill and that is what we have got between Ryan and Salvador. This is going to be a hugely competitive battle but, naturally, I am picking Ryan to win and then push forward towards world title contention.

We had long promised Ryan a big fight in front of his people on home soil, but unfortunately there are no indoor arenas in his native Southampton just yet, so we are delivering for him as close to home as we can here in Bournemouth.

It is only a short drive away and the BIC is terrific, with not a bad view in the house and plenty of bars and food outlets. Of course, being out of season, there are also numerous places to stay and make a weekend of it.

As Ryan well knows, he has always been a bit of a favourite of mine since he burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old back in 2016. I always tipped him for stardom and, although we’ve had a few bumps along the way, I still hold this belief.

I will be a big thrill for me to see him succeed and fulfil the obvious potential he possesses. The European title is a great place for him to start and the way the people of Southampton have responded to this event has been incredible.

Ryan has personally sold bundles of tickets and the atmosphere here tonight will be something else. I, for one, cannot wait to experience it.

The Southampton flavour continues on the card with British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion Lewis Edmondson defending his Commonwealth title against the confident Oluwatosin Kejawa, who swapped life in Lagos, Nigeria for Bristol in order to further his prospects in the sport.

As everyone will have seen last weekend in Riyadh, the light heavyweight division is literally booming at the moment and there is no better time to be part of the action. There is always room for new talent and the likes of Lewis, Karol Itauma - who we welcome back into action tonight - and Ezra Taylor need to perform and force their way into the picture.

We’ve got a belter of a fight at lightweight tonight, with the Commonwealth Silver title on the line between local lad Mace Ruegg and the tough-as-nails former British champion Liam Dillon. As I tend to say pretty often, this one has got fight written all over it.

I am sure you the fans are happy to see Joe Joyce parking up his Big Juggernaut in Bournemouth tonight. After a few setbacks, big Joe is having another go and, should he successfully account for Patrick Korte in his comeback fight, a big date awaits with Dillian Whyte up in Manchester on April 5.

Also back in action tonight after being out for a while is Charles Frankham, the gifted super featherweight and new welterweight Henry Turner following his unsuccessful tilt at winning the British super lightweight title.

I am also looking forward to monitoring the progress of excellent talents in Luke McCormack and John Isaacs, plus we welcome Joseph Butler onto the card.

Before I close, I would like to extend my thanks, as always, to our wonderful sponsors Riyadh Season, 32Red and Unibet for their magnificent support, along with our unrivalled broadcast partners TNT Sport, who provide a magnificent showcase for our fighters.

Most of all, my appreciation goes to you, the fans, for coming out in support of the boxers and making the watching of live boxing such a special experience.

I hope you enjoy your evening.

Best wishes

Frank Warren