It was way back in October 2010 when South African boxing promoter Rodney Berman laid on an evening of championship boxing at Mote Park with his top trio of South African talent – Lehlo Ledwaba, Takalani Ndlovu and Stephenus Carr.
The threesome all emerged victorious as Ledwaba headlined in the third defence of his IBF world junior featherweight title via a spectacular eighth-round knockout over Argentinian challenger, Eduardo Alvarez. Just eight months later, a young Manny Pacquiao cruelly snatched the title away from Ledwaba, known as ‘The Hands of Stone’, in front of a sold-out crowd at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas in June 2011.
Fast-forward a decade and a half and unbeaten heavyweight prospect Dave Jones (6-0) from the Isle of Sheppey headlines the Kent event as he vies for an International Challenge belt, the first strap that could potentially adorn his waist in the pro ranks.
Unbeaten super-middleweight talent, Grant Dennis from Chatham moves up to his first 10-rounder in the second of the night’s International Challenge belt contests.
In his previous outing, the 32-year-old ‘Go-Getter’ grabbed the British Challenge super-middleweight belt with a points win over the former Central Area titlist, Wayne Reed.
Martin Hillman (6-2) will defend his International featherweight belt honours against an opponent yet to be confirmed over 10-rounds at lightweight.
The 25-year-old from Sidcup claimed the vacant strap last February in Essex by defeating closely-matched David Hoppal (5-2), 18-years-old, with just 30 seconds to go in the third round of the scheduled eight-round contest.
Local lads filling up the undercard are unbeaten middleweights Oli Edwards (3-0) and Charlie Shane (1-0) in respective bouts, as well as Maidstone’s Chris Matthews (2-0), Leysdown’s Louis Greene (3-0), Whitstable’s James Chiericato (4-2-1), 26-year-old super-lightweight Elvis Makoda (1-1-2), and debutant Owen Stone makes his pro bow.
Newly-formed promotional outfit – JE Promotions is headed by former pro boxer, Joe Elfidh and have already enjoyed three successful shows in the Garden of England.
Elfidh commented, “We’ve got some great sponsors on board now such as Kent Trade Frames and Campbell Nutrition, and we’ve got a good partnership with Invicta Gym and Fight Box Gym, so we’ll be looking at putting more shows on in and around Kent in the future.”
