Three unbeaten prospects star in Boxing Connected’s Doncaster debut
Rising promotional outfit, Boxing Connected, have unveiled their first ever show to take place in the town of Doncaster, featuring three local unbeaten prospects.
Armthorpe duo Josh Padley and Ryan Stevenson are joined by Warmsworth’s Cameron Kaihau at the Holiday Inn Hotel on Friday, February 21. The talented trio are 13-0 between them.
Undefeated lightweight prospect Josh Padley (3-0) will take on Northern Area title contender Jordan Ellison (11-27-2) over six rounds at lightweight.
‘Baby J’ Ellison, 24-years-old from Seaham, is as big a banana skin as they come. He has defeated six unbeaten prospects during his five-year career and one of those was Boxing Connected signing Luke Gibb, who was undefeated in three fights until he stepped up to eight rounds against an enthused Ellison.
In his last fight, just days before Christmas, he held Manchester ‘Hitman’ Adam Hague (16-1) to a 57-57 draw over six rounds at super-lightweight, so will provide the Padley with a tough test.
Trained by Ian Alcock at the Doncaster Boxing Academy, 24-year-old Padley sizzled in his first six-round contest last November at the North Notts Arena in Worksop as he cruised to 60-53 points victory. Promoter Joe Elfidh praised Josh as “the standout fighter of the night.”
It was back in August 2019 when ‘Paddy’ penned contracts with Boxing Connected, as Elfidh promised he would stage shows in his hometown and has delivered on that pledge very quickly.
Padley’s teammate Ryan Stevenson (7-0) joins him on the show, making it two Armthorpe boxers on the bill.
Armthorpe is the birthplace of football legend Kevin Keegan, England International Peter Swan and one of England’s most successful managers of all-time, George Raynor. Both Stevenson and Padley are determined to put boxing on the map in their local village for the first time in its history.
The 26-year-old welterweight stated, “We are definitely looking to become some of the successful names from our area and take it as far as possible.”
Stevenson will have his second six-rounder against an opponent yet to be confirmed. His first step up to six rounds occurred in his sixth contest but only went halfway as he KO’d his opponent, Dan West (5-5-2), midway through the third round with a stunning left hook to the head. It remains his only stoppage victory of his two-year career.
The six-foot-tall welterweight is lining up a shot at the Central Area title in 2020, he confirmed, “I want the Area title this year, that’s the plan.”
The Central Area welterweight title is currently vacant but will be contested the following day on February 22 just four miles away at the Doncaster Dome between Lewis ‘2Smooth’ Booth (11-0) and Tom Young (8-1).
Stevenson is planning on scouting out his next potential opponent, “I won’t be attending the show, but I will be keeping a close eye on it and catching up with the fight later on YouTube, I’m sure.”
The most local of the three, Cameron Kaihau (3-0), trained by his dad Simon at Mexborough ABC, was a regional amateur champion and ABA Novice finalist, and is so far undefeated as a pro.
Kaihau has a rich history of boxing in his family, his dad was an amateur boxer and his grandfather, Alani, boxed professionally between 1958-1964.
The 26-year-old super-welterweight will face 230-fight veteran Kevin McCauley (15-202-12) over four rounds at a venue that is literally a stone’s throw away.
“Yeah, it’s just around the corner for me,” he laughed. “It would take me five minutes to walk there at the most!”
Cameron shared his plans for the coming year, “Just want to keep listening to my dad – who is also my coach – keep taking it fight by fight and hopefully get another four or so fights in this year, staying undefeated. I maybe looking at stepping up to a six-rounder next and getting my name out there.”
Joe Elfidh added, “I told these lads when they signed that I would build them up in their hometowns and that’s what I’m doing.
“Ryan [Stevenson] is ready for a Central Area title shot already, so I’ll be putting him forward for that after this next fight.
“Josh is a real talent, he’s one to watch. They’re both putting boxing on the map in Armthorpe and I hope their village really get behind them for this next show. They are trained by Ian Alcock at the Doncaster Boxing Academy, who is a really good coach who I hold in high regard. As a team, we will be picking the right fights for them at the right time to move them into title positions.
“Cameron has a great setup, training with his dad. He’s going to go far, he’s very dedicated, and I picked him as one to watch this year.”
