Ahmed vs Braithwaite Last-Minute British Title Fight On Friday: Viewing Details
Ahmed vs Braithwaite Tops BCB Promotions Card In The Midlands
Ijaz Ahmed was scheduled to fight Kaisy Khademi for the British Super Flyweight title on a Neilson Boxing show at the start of the month. In a long-drawn-out rivalry, the fourth fight between the pair was postponed for the second time because of an injury.
Ahmed hasn’t wasted much time in finding a replacement opponent to fight for the still vacant British super-flyweight belt and has chosen to go up against Marcel Braithwaite.
The bout will be live on the BCB Promotions YouTube page from 6 pm on Friday, March 17 with the show coming from a town hall in Dudley, featuring a full undercard including a Midlands area super-featherweight bout between Joe Underwood Hughes and Ameen Khalid.
The BBBofC circular update on the 9th of March confirmed the fight between Ahmed and Braithwaite had been approved by stewards and the fight was officially announced the following day by BCB, joining an existing card in Dudley with the aforementioned Midlands area fight.
Before noting the unusual circumstances of the fight, it’s worth noting that it is always welcome for British title fights to be so easily accessible for fight fans and to be contested by two evenly-matched contenders.
Ahmed has a high punch output and Braithwaite carries power, so the two will no doubt meet at the center of the ring for a war. Ahmed’s two draws with Khademi will also give him extra motivation to leave no doubt in the judges’ minds about who is winning the rounds.
However, I can’t recall a British title fight being arranged at such short notice. David Jamieson stood in against Mikael Lawal with 10 days warning back in November, but that date and venue were already penciled in for the cruiserweight crown to be contested. Plus, Jamieson only stepped in last minute because of Deion Jumah’s unfortunate retirement from the sport, owing to injury.
Braithwaite did beat Essomba in what was billed as a final eliminator for the British, but it was only eligible for Essomba because Braithwaite missed weight.
Therefore, I don’t question Ahmed putting the rivalry aside with Khademi and going for the British again nor the board in that regard when the winner can “waive grace and defend when called upon on to do so.” But I do think effectively overruling Braithwaite’s ineligibility for becoming mandatory for the belt, by just giving him a vacant shot as an approved opponent, is indeed questionable from the board.
By Harry Duffy