Former Froch victims to contest English title

By Ben Carey

Tony Dodson will defend his English super-middleweight title against Matthew Barney. The fighters share a couple of common denominators – both are former British champions who have been well beaten by Carl Froch. Dodson vs Barney will be held at the Everton Park Sports Centre on 19 October and could effectively double as a final eliminator for the British title.

Current champion Froch must defend his Lonsdale belt against mandatory challenger Robin Reid by the end of November with the deadline for all purse bids extended until 11 July while the Nottingham man recovers from injury.

Thaxton vs Earl the pick of British title pairings

By Ben Carey

Jon Thaxton’s British lightweight title defence against former holder Graham Earl was the highlight of the Board of Control’s monthly championship meeting yesterday. Thaxton’s promoters, Hennessy Sports, will stage the contest at the Norwich Showground on August 3 after submitting the winning purse bid.

Veteran Thaxton finally became British champion in his 14th year as a professional when decisioning Lee Meager in December. He has since made one defence, stopping English champion Scott Lawton in March. Earl was last in action in February against Aussie powerhouse Michael Katsidis where he was retired by his corner at the end of five punishing rounds after a tremendous slugfest. The Luton man has since split from respected and long-time trainer Johnny Eames.