Kent could be the new hotspot for professional boxing according to a young fighter who has eyes on a world title.
Chatham teenager Moses Itauma is preparing for a fight on the undercard of the heavyweight unification bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh next month and he’s not the only one making waves – with some promising talent emerging from the county.
Gravesend’s Cheavon Clarke has been tipped to become a world champion and he fights this Saturday for the vacant WBA inter-continental cruiserweight title.
Itauma, 19, has declared his intentions to try and become the youngest ever world heavyweight champion and believes he’s in good company.
“The Kent boys are coming on,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of fighters coming from Kent, you’ve got me, Sam Noakes, Sean Noakes, Charlie Hickford, my brother (Karol), Dennis McCann and Archie Sharp – who isn’t classed as Kent but he’s Kent!
“There are a lot of fighters from Kent that are doing very well and I not only appreciate the support that they have given me but even the ones training alongside me, a lot of amateur boys as well who are looking to turn over soon, they are looking to make headlines as well.
“I feel like Kent is going to be the new hotspot for boxing.”
On Saturday, Clarke fights for the first time since his IBF International Cruiserweight win over Vasil Ducar.
The 33-year-old won his first professional title with success over Czech Republic’s Ducar at the Ovo Arena, Wembley in October and is 7-0 with five knockouts.
He will battle Northern Irish boxer Tommy McCarthy – a former European champion – at Belfast’s Ulster Hall for the vacant WBA inter-continental cruiserweight title.
Clarke, who represented Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is signed to Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn said his weekend fight is a brilliant test and that he will “go on and become a world champion.”
He added: “This shows his intentions – it is a really good fight.”
Moses Itauma’s brother Karol won a gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic. He won his first nine fights before fighting for the WBC international light heavyweight title at Wembley Arena a year ago.
Karol, 23, suffered a shock fifth-round KO defeat against Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna – his first professional loss – but has since bounced back with points wins over Khalid Graidia and Dmytro Fedas. He’s back in action at the Copper Box Arena, London on February 10.
Younger brother Moses swept allcomers aside in the junior amateur ranks, prompting some to label him the knockout machine. His professional debut came on the same show that had seen his older brother beaten.
Moses won all seven of his pro fights last year, with five first-round KOs. He’s sparred Anthony Joshua and more recently Tyson Fury.
The Itauma’s middle brother Samuel Itauma is also set to get on the scene with his own fight coming up.
The February 10 show at the Copper Box will feature some other exciting Kent prospects.
Commonwealth lightweight champion Sam Noakes, from Maidstone, has won all 12 of his fights inside the distance, beating Carlos Perez last time out at York Hall to retain his WBC international silver title.
The 26-year-old has got an exciting match-up next when he faces Lewis Sylvester, his opponents boasting an unblemished record from 13 fights. Both his commonwealth and WBC international silver belt are on the line.
Older brother Sean Noakes, 28, has won all six of his pro fights – three by KO – and was last in action back in September with a points win over Lukasz Barabasz.
The Maidstone welterweight negotiated the last four rounds with a broken thumb to extend his winning record at Wembley Arena.
He said: “When times get tough, I can just get through it, which I thought was a good thing to take away from this fight.
“It wasn’t my best performance but I’ve shown something you can’t really teach and that’s bottle, so I’m happy with that.”
Charlie Hickford, 22 and from Cliffe, won on his Queensbury boxing debut at York Hall with a dominant points victory over Jake Pollard.
“I came out looking as good as when I went in, so I can’t complain!” he said, following his fight that was broadcast live on TNT Sports.
He has a tough-looking fight on the Copper Box show for his second pro outing, up against Columbian Yin Caicedo – his opponent winning nine of his 27 bouts, including three stoppages.
Slick southpaw Dennis ‘The Menace’ McCann, from Headcorn, won the WBO Youth Super Bantamweight title in March 2022, outclassing his opponent Charles Tondo at the Wembley OVO Arena.
He went on to win the vacant WBC International Silver Feather belt in July of that year and followed it up with the Commonwealth Boxing Council Super Bantam crown before facing Ionut Baluta at York Hall and suffering a cut on the forehead following an accidental clash of heads. That ended a thrilling WBO inter-continental super bantamweight title fight which finished in a majority draw.
He fights next on March 16 against Brad Strand for the WBO European Super bantamweight title and the vacant WBO Inter Continental super bantamweight title.
Archie Sharp, from Welling, clinched the WBO Gobal super featherweight title in October 2021 and boasts a 24-0 record, winning his last fight at York Hall in December on points against Victor Julio. He’s currently ranked no.7 super featherweight in the UK.
Louis Greene, from Strood, never ducks a challenge and the 31-year-old is ranked sixth in the UK super welterweight rankings.
The ‘Medway Mauler’ won the Commonwealth Boxing Council super welter title in November 2022 and successfully defended it in May 2023 before Sam Gilley took the belt off him in October. He’s only been stopped once in his 20 bouts.
A couple of boxers from Sheppey are ticking over nicely.
Oli Edwards, 29, made his first professional appearance in 2015 but had a four and a half year break between wins over Dan Blackwell in September 2017 and Robbie Chapman in March 2022.
The super middleweight continued where he left off, boasting a record of 9-0 and goes out again at York Hall on March 1.
Martin McDonagh, 28, claimed the southern area lightweight belt with a KO win in September 2022 and defended his title with victory over Ben Smith at York Hall in April last year. He’s suffered two defeats in his 14 pro outings.
Alex Branson-Cole – the first pro fighter from Faversham since 1959 – will be looking to bounce back from his first defeat in the paid ranks when he faces Jordan Latimer at York Hall on February 3. He lost to Ethan George in November, going down in the in the second round to a left hook.
“It was a bit of a reality check but you always know there is a chance of losing,” said the 30-year-old.
Paul ‘Bomber’ Brown, from Ramsgate, suffered a blow in his hopes of a Southern Area title as he lost to Bromley’s Jack Owen, stopped in four rounds. He had won all of his previous seven fights and was looking to finish his boxing career on a high. He declared before the fight that he would be calling it a day.
