Iqbal to follow legendary footsteps

Unbeaten prodigy Sahir Iqbal fights for the first title of his professional career against Maredudd Thomas on Wednesday – and it’s a belt that has been held by plenty of boxing’s biggest names.

Iqbal (7-0, 1 KO) faces Thomas (11-0, 2 KOs) for the vacant WBC Youth welterweight title on a massive #MTKFightNight at Production Park Studios in Wakefield, live in the US on ESPN+ in association with Top Rank and worldwide on IFL TV.

The WBC Youth strap has previously been around the waist of the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Devin Haney, and Iqbal has set his sights on beating Thomas and then matching their career trajectories.

Iqbal said: “This is a big title for any young boxer. A lot of the world champions today such as Canelo, Haney, and Garcia have all won it coming through, so it will be good to be among those names.

“A win will push me up high in the rankings and open up opportunities to have bigger fights. I take it one fight at a time, but the end goal is to become a world champion.

“This fight is definitely going to feel different from my previous professional fights in front of fans, but I’m used to traveling all over the world as an amateur and fighting in big and small halls with big and small crowds, so I don’t think it’ll be too much of a factor.”

Iqbal vs. Thomas is part of a huge show on Wednesday, which is headlined by Jono Carroll vs. Maxi Hughes and also features Sean McComb going up against Siar Ozgul, Craig MacIntyre taking on Ishmael Ellis, and Pierce O’Leary facing.

It kicks off a brilliant run of #MTKFightNight events throughout the summer, with the likes of Lewis Crocker, Lee McGregor, Gary Cully, Akeem Ennis Brown, Dan Azeez and more all in action over the coming months.

Aged 15-19 and want to enter the world of boxing as a fighter, coach, referee, cuts person, promoter, event coordinator, journalist, and everything in between? Sign up for the #MTKAcademy now: www.academyse.co.uk/mtkacademy