Joe Joyce Headlines Second Queensbury Bill Post Lockdown

By Paul Kelly

Just two weeks after the first British boxing show took place, Frank Warren boasts another bill at the BT Sport studios. Queensbury Promotions first show went down as a success, with a British Title fight headlining the show, which concluded in Brad Foster winning the Lonsdale belt outright.

This week, there are five more fights for fans to feast on.

First up is Ekow Essuman, who will be looking to improve his winning record to fourteen fights. The Nottingham based welterweight was last seen in action in November, whereby he stopped a previously undefeated Curtis Felix Jr.

The most notable win of the 31-year-olds career was back in March 2019, where he claimed a majority decision victory over Tyrone Nurse to win the English Title. ‘The Engine’ will be looking to impress on Saturday night, to get himself in the mix for some potential domestic dust-ups at the end of the year.

Second on the card is heavy hitting middleweight, Denzel Bentley. He takes on Mick Ball, in what looks like a good matchup on paper. Bentley is a highly rated up and coming star, with aspirations for greatness in boxing. The 25-year-old Londoner has an impressive ten stoppages in his 12 wins, and will be confident of adding to that come Saturday. However, Ball’s only two defeats came against Jack Arnfield, so this fight is no push over for Bentley. Ball will come to win, and believes he is more than capable of getting the victory.

The third fight on the card sees Louie Lynn take on Monty Ogilvie in an interesting featherweight matchup. Lynn, an undefeated 24-year-old from Banstead, has looked impressive so far in his short career. This is a step up for ‘Loco’, as he looks to make moves on the British featherweight scene. However, Ogilvie will have other ideas, and is certainly capable of causing an upset. Having lost his last outing back in October to Nathaniel Collins, the 28-year-old will be looking to bounce back on Saturday in what is a great opportunity for him live on television.

The chief support sees Chris Bourke take on Ramez Mahmood for the Southern Area Super Bantamweight Title. The only fight on the bill between two undefeated fighters. Bourke, who has 5 stoppages in his 7 wins as a professional, will be looking to add to his record come fight night. The heavy handed former Team GB boxer, has looked nothing short of sensational since turning professional back in 2018. This will be his 6th fight under Frank Warren, and the slick southpaw will be hoping for a big performance come Saturday night.

In the opposite corner is ‘The Mathemagician’, who boasts a perfect 11(2)-0 record. The Twenty Six year-old has spent the majority of his career at featherweight, but is stepping down to super-bantamweight this weekend for a chance to win his second Southern Area Title and in his own words wants to 'upset the applecart'. On paper, this looks like a real 50/50 fight, which is what makes this matchup catch the eye of the British boxing public. As the old saying goes: ‘Somebody’s 0 has got to go!’

The main event of the evening sees Joe Joyce take on Michael Wallisch. The German should pose very little problems for ‘The Juggernaut’, as Joyce looks to win impressively to warm himself up for his huge heavyweight showdown with fellow Brit, Daniel Dubois (Dubious headlines against the undefeated Erik Pfeifer on the 29th August).

Although Joyce is expected to get his hand raised, the 34-year-old German will be coming to win, hoping to throw a spanner in the works and potentially put his name in the frame for bigger fights.

Speaking on his opponent on Saturday night on Joe Joyce Boxing YouTube channel, the Londoner said: “Wallisch is a good boxer. He has a European style with a high guard and he comes in throwing punches, body shots and head shots. It is a good, hard fight. It will be good to shake off the ring rust, get back in there and actually box.”

Joyce has looked nothing short of sensational since turning professional back in 2017, after winning a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Although Joyce has business to attend to on Saturday night, he will almost certainly have one eye fixed on the Dubois fight, which is set to headline the O2 Arena on October 24th.

Joyce is currently ranked 12th with the WBO and 11th with the WBC, so will have his sights firmly set on a world title in 2021, should he overcome Wallisch on Saturday night, and Dubois in the Autumn.

Saturday promises to be another entertaining night of action, as we slowly make our way back to normality in the world of boxing.