Boxing News: Dalton Smith vs. Jose Zepeda and Sandy Ryan vs. Terri Harper Date and Location Revealed, Undefeated Florian Marku Will Fight Chris Kongo

Fans are well aware of the big blockbusters lined up for them. Starting with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk‘s ‘Ring of Fire’ on February 17, Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will take the stage on March 8. Both fights will take place in Saudi Arabia. However, that’s not the end-all, be-all. A slew of exciting line-ups follow to keep the fans on the edge of their seats.

On Saturday, March 23, at Sheffield, Yorkshire’s Sheffield Arena, a Matchroom Boxing and DAZN event will present unbeaten British light welterweight Dalton Smith taking on seasoned world title challenger Jose Zepeda. Then legend Ricky Hatton‘s son, Campbell Hatton, will face James Flint for a regional light welterweight title. But the highlight of the day could be the world title clash between Sandy Ryan, who will defend her belt from Terri Harper. Then, on a side note, an all-British clash will see unbeaten Florian Marku settle the difference with Chris Kongo.

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Sandy Ryan versus Terri Harper

So first, an all-British boxing face-off will see 30-year-old Derby-born Sandy Ryan defend her WBO (female) welterweight title from Doncaster-born, 27-year-old Terri Harper. Ryan drew her last match against the American Jessica McCaskill on the Richardson Hitchins-Jose Zepeda main card on September 23 at Caribe Royale Orlando.

McCaskill, a former undisputed welterweight champion, holds the division’s WBC, WBA, and IBO belts. So a win against her would have made Ryan a unified champion. On March 23, the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games gold medalist will enter the ring with a record of six wins against one loss and one draw.

On a similar line, Terri Harper, a WBA (female) light middleweight champion, drew against Norwegian Cecilia Brækhus on October 7 last year during the Leigh Wood–Josh Warrington main card. She held the WBC and IBO (female) super featherweight titles but had to eventually cede them to Alycia Baumgardner in 2021. Later on, she moved up to become the light middleweight champion.

If she succeeds in defeating Sandy Ryan, then she will become a three-division champion. Her record currently reads 14 wins, one loss, and two draws.

Dalton Smith versus Jose Zepeda

Unbeaten Dalton Smith will make an attempt to enter the big league by fighting former world title challenger Jose Zepeda. The 26-year-old Sheffield-born fighter became the British light welterweight champion on August 6, 2022. ‘Thunder’ defended his belt successfully for the third time last year by knocking out Sam Maxwell on July 1 in front of a home crowd at the Sheffield Arena. Out of his fifteen outings, 11 came his way through knockouts, thus giving him a knockout-to-win rate of 73%.

34-year-old Californian Jose Zepeda will ride on the back of a vast experience to tame the ‘Thunder’. His previous attempts at winning world titles against the likes of Jose Ramirez and Regis Prograis met with failure. Last year, after scoring a win against the Indian, Neeraj Goyat on March 25, he suffered his fourth career loss to the Richardson Hitchins at the Caribe Royale Orlando on September 23. The last time he fought on British grounds was nine years ago when Terry Flanagan inflicted his first career defeat at the Velodrome in Manchester. ‘Chon’ will enter the Sheffield Arena with a record of 37 wins, four losses, and two no-contests.

Campbell Hatton versus James Flint

Continuing his family’s legacy in boxing, 23-year-old Ashton, under Lyne-born Campbell Hatton, will be spreading his wings come March 23. The son of boxing legend Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton, after fourteen successful outings (no losses yet), will stake a claim to a title. He last defeated Jamie Simpson on the Jack Catterall–Jorge Linares main card on October 21 last year. A win over James Flint will make ‘Hurricane’ the Central Area light welterweight champion.

26-year-old Doncasterian drew his last bout on October 21 against Adam Sircar. Months earlier, on March 18, he defeated Joe Garside to win the vacant Central Area light welterweight title. A win over Campbell Hatton will certainly raise the stock of ‘The Young Lion’. The experienced Flint currently holds a record of 13 wins against a single loss and two draws.

Florian Marku Versus Chris Kongo: Boxing Begrudged

In a parallel development, former Matchroom stable Florian Marku will face Chris Kongo. Though specific details such as a date and venue are yet to be made available, per available reports, it could be expected to occur sometime in March. IFL TV tweeted yesterday, “ANNOUNCED: Florian Marku will put his unbeaten record on the line against Chris Kongo in their next fight, with a date and location to be confirmed. Who wins and how?“

Florian Marku

Reportedly, the match follows an agreement between the two after a much-publicized fallout last August. It will be a welterweight bout. The ‘Albanian King’ has yet to face a defeat. Out of his thirteen wins, eight came his way through knockouts.

A match against Jamie Stewart in 2020 went to a draw. On August 22, last year, the 31-year-old defeated Miguel Parra Ramirez to win the vacant WBC silver (interim) welterweight title. Subsequently, he defeated Dylan Moran in the opening round of their bout on September 2 as part of the Chris Eubank Jr. – Liam Smith II main card.

Chris Kongo

Probably more than Florian Marku, the match is more critical for the 31-year-old Londoner. Last year, on January 21, he lost a closely contested fight to Ekow Essuman during the first Eubank Jr.-Smith I fight main card at the Manchester Arena. The loss comes after suffering his first defeat at the hands of Michael McKinson in 2021. Hence, a third reversal could have serious implications for his career. The six-footer stands tall with a record of fourteen wins and two losses.

This is just the gist of the thrilling line-ups coming up to enthrall the fans and followers. In April, another Matchroom and DAZN event will bring Richardson Hitchins and the Argentine Gustavo Daniel Lemos into the ring to decide the IBF light welterweight title eliminator. The winner might proceed towards the highly rewarding chance to fight the champion, Subriel Matias.

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