Chamberlain And Turner Head Up York Hall Title Double

QUEENSBERRY WILL MAKE a further pilgrimage to London’s Mecca of boxing, York Hall, on Friday November 24, with Mark Chamberlain and Henry Turner set to make third defences of their international title belts.

Chamberlain, 13-0 (9 KOs), will defend his IBF European lightweight title against the Lativian Artjoms Ramlavs, 16-2 (8 KOs), as he looks to close out the year with three straight stoppage victories in championship action.

Turner, 11-0 (4 KOs), is also seeking a KO-treble for the year when he goes up against British title challenger Billy Allington, 11-2-4, in defence of his WBC International Silver super lightweight title.

“It is the same as the other ones for me,” commented Chamberlain, 24, from Waterlooville. “I need to prepare everything right and make another successful defence. “I don’t know an awful lot about Ramlavs, just that Archie Sharp fought him and also Damian Wrzesinski, who I used to train with in Southampton.

“I don’t look too much into this side of things because if you prepare for something off a video they might come in completely different. I’ve definitely just got to close out the year with a big performance and then move on to bigger fights in 2024. I am up there in the rankings now and I’ve just got to keep winning.”

For Turner, 23, it is a successive domestic assignment following his sixth round stoppage of experienced Liverpool man Tom Farrell in June.

“I think this is a good fight, a good domestic fight,” said the southpaw on his encounter with Egham’s Allington. “It is another step in the right direction to where I need to be, getting in line for that British title and Commonwealth title.

“I think the better the opposition the better I am. You are getting more out of me each time I am stepping up. I would say this is my toughest fight and I think he is a bit ahead of Tom Farrell because he has boxed for the British title against Dalton Smith.”

Elsewhere on the card, Northampton super welterweight Ben Fail (4-0, 3 KOs) will be in six-round action against Nikola Stoyanov (4-7, 1) from Bulgaria, with explosive Brick Lane welterweight Khalid Ali (6-0, 3) also fighting over six.

Belfast light flyweight star Kristina O’Hara (3-0) will make her Queensberry debut against Spain’s Cristina Navarro (3-1, 1) in a six-round international contest, while fighting over four rounds will be Thamesmead cruiserweight Natty Ngwenya (2-0) and professional debut-makers, super lightweight Billy Adams from Chelmsford and super featherweight Charlie Hickford from Rochester.

“These York Hall shows have provided an ideal platform for our young future stars to showcase their skills and let the public know what they are all about,” said promoter Frank Warren.

“Across 2023, both Mark Chamberlain and Henry Turner have grasped the opportunity and delivered two statement-making title defences and I expect more of the same from them on November 24.

“They have proved themselves to be top quality operators and they are both quickly moving into the contender category. I expect 2024 to be a big year for Mark and Henry, one where they will make significant steps forward and we will see if we have got a couple of future world champions on our hands.

“First they have got to get through again at the good old York Hall, with Mark taking on a tough customer in Artjoms Ramlavs, who we had over here before at the end of 2019 and he gave Archie Sharp all sorts of problems. Henry is taking on a tricky looking fight against Billy Allington, who trains out of the Peacock Gym and gave Dalton Smith a hard night’s work in a British title fight earlier this year.

“I am also looking forward to officially launching the Queensberry careers of Kristina O’Hara, Billy Adams and Charlie Hickford.”