Amir Khan has been ordered to defend his WBA light-welterweight title against interim champion Marcos Maidana. Purse bids will be opened at the WBA’s offices in Panama on January 18 and the contest must then take place within 90 days.

The WBA’s ruling has led some to speculate whether Khan will vacate his world title rather then risk damaging his rebuilt reputation against the dangerous Argentinean who has 26 stoppages from his 27 wins.

BoxingScene.com reportedly “has heard some serious talk going around the industry that Khan will vacate the junior welterweight title if the WBA forces him to fight Maidana next.” However, in an interview over at Eastsideboxing.com this week Khan appeared to be relishing the danger of Maidana’s impending challenge.

It will be interesting to see who is proven correct. Given the choice it seems that Khan is happy to take on all-comers, regardless of the threat they may pose to him. Love him or loathe him (as fans seem to do so in equal measure), Khan has never been a fighter who has shirked a challenge since turning pro following his glittering amateur career in 2005. Amir’s eagerness to reach the top saw him take an unnecessary assignment against Breidis Prescott for which his recklessness was duly punished inside a minute.

After dusting himself down with a second round confidence boosting win over Oisin Fagan, Khan jumped straight into a make-or-break contest with the legendary (though faded) Marco Antonio Barrera. The Bolton man followed his cuts-win triumph over Barrera by dethroning WBA champion Andriy Kotelnik in his first meaningful contest at light-welterweight in July. Whatever Khan’s defensive shortcomings, his courage surely cannot be questioned.

The Bolton quicksilver will always have his critics though. These same critics who accused Khan of previously ducking domestic rivals Jon Thaxton and John Murray will resurface if he elects to sidestep Maidana in favour of pursuing a clash against either a shopworn Ricky Hatton or Juan Manuel Marquez. Maidana has lost only once in 28 fights, ironically on a split decision when challenging Andriy Kotelnik for the WBA crown in February 2009.

The Argentinean showed what he is all about though when stopping the highly touted Victor Ortitz in June during a wild up-and-downer in which Maidana recovered from two early knockdowns to eventually overwhelm Ortitz in round six.

It would represent a significant risk but Maidana could be the perfect opponent to launch Khan into America which is believed to be high on Amir’s list of priorities for 2010. The fight could potentially draw comparisons with Naseem Hamed’s spectacular US debut win against Kevin Kelley in 1997 in which Hamed knocked out Kelley in round four after the pair swapped multiple knockdowns in a back-and-forth cliffhanger.

Whether Khan could similarly climb off the canvas to triumph against Maidana is open to debate though.

Unbeaten prospects George Groves (pictured) and Tom Dallas have been added to Frank Maloney’s show at Brentwood Centre on Friday January 22. Super-middleweight Groves and heavyweight Dallas will meet selected opponents on the bill being televised live by Sky Sports.

Groves, 21, is a man in a hurry and is already targeting Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Charles Adamu who controversially won his title on a split decision against Liverpool’s Carl Dilks last month.

“With Frank and Hayemaker taking care of me, I’ll be able to showcase my skills all over the country. Frank’s got dates on Sky TV just about every other week – so I can’t see why he wouldn’t want to use me. Although David (Haye) and Adam (Booth) are my management and training team, Frank is taking over the promotional contract and that is going to bring great exposure,” commented Groves.

Maloney added: “George has benefitted from being around David Haye in the gym and has made it clear he wants a quick route to the top.”

Dallas, 24, is undefeated in eight fights and is establishing himself as one of Britain’s’ best young heavyweights alongside David Price, Derek Chisora and Tyson Fury.

He has recently been sparring with FTM stablemate Price and Maloney says it is the best heavyweight sparring he has seen for years.

Top of the bill is Ian Napa’s (19-7) British bantamweight title defence against Jamie McDonnell (12-2-1). On the undercard, Ashley Sexton and Usman Ahmed will compete for the vacant English flyweight crown, former British super-featherweight champion Carl Johanneson will return to the ring and heavyweights Larry Olubamiwo and Scott Belshaw meet in a crossroads battle.

Tickets, priced £80 and £35 are available via www.frankmaloney.com or 0871 226 1508.

Mark Thompson could earn himself a shot at the British welterweight title if he can overcome former champion Kevin McIntyre in a ten round eliminator. This excellent match will take place on Hatton Promotions’ first show of 2010 at the Altrincham Leisure Centre on January 15.

They Heywood puncher has put together an impressive 11-fight win streak since first bursting onto the scene following his thrilling but ultimately gallant loss to South Africa’s Vincent Vuma 18 months ago. At 28 and after 23 fights (22 wins, 1 defeat), Thompson has more than served his apprenticeship and will be looking to finally win a title of significance in 2010.

Opponent Kevin McIntyre has endured a similarly frustrating time. Harshly stripped after being unable to defend his British crown against Kell Brook due to injury, McIntyre was blitzed in a round by Brook when trying to regain the Lonsdale belt in November 2008 against the Sheffield star.

The Scot returned to the ring last February with a second round stoppage victory over Jay Morris. McIntyre was once again bemoaning his bad luck though in October when his contest with the unbeaten Brett Flournoy was suddenly aborted in round 2. The fight was subsequently declared a no contest after ringside medics were called away to attend to Jason Rushton who had collapsed in the dressing room following his stoppage loss to Brian Rose.

Thompson and McIntyre is a difficult fight to call. One can envisage Thompson bulldozing the slow-starting McIntyre to defeat early, as proved to be the case when Kevin was stopped in the opening round by Kell Brook and Nigel Wright. Thompson does have a tendency to load up with every shot however and if he fails to get McIntyre out of there the crafty southpaw could settle into a rhythm and outbox a fading Thompson down the stretch.

The British and Commonwealth cruiserweight title rematch between Robert Norton and David Dolan tops the bill. This Hatton Promotions bill will also feature the explosive rematch between middleweight punchers Paul Samuels and Cello Renda – two fights I have previously discussed in an earlier article (see below).

If that isn’t enough, the Hatton’s also stage an English lightweight title battle between Dezzi Higginson and Martin Gethin and will showcase a host of North West talent on a packed undercard. Full details below.

Venue:

Altrincham Leisure Centre
Oakfield Road
Altrincham
WA15 8EW

0161 926 3255

Doors: 6.00pm
First Fight: 6.30 tbc

Live on Sky Sports

Ticket Prices:
£30.00 General Admission
£50.00 Ringside
£75.00 VIP Ringside

0161 775 7500

www.brandhatton.com

Ticketmaster: 0844 847 2500

CARD:

Rob Norton Vs David Dolan
12×3 British & Commonwealth Cruiserweight Title

Mark Thompson Vs Kevin McIntyre
10×3 British Welterweight Eliminator

Dezzie Higginson Vs Martin Gethin
10×3 English Lightweight Title

Cello Renda Vs Paul Samuels
8×3 Middleweight Contest

Matty Askin Vs Hastings Rasani
6×3 Cruiserweight Contest

Craig Lyons Vs Emliano Salvani
8×3 Bantamweight Contest

Stephen Foster Jnr Vs Kakha Avetisyan
6×3 Super-Featherweight Contest

Joe Murray Vs George McHedlishvili
6×3 Super-Bantamweight Contest

Kieran Maher vs Johny Greaves
4×3 Light-Welterweight Contest

James Barker vs Delroy Spencer
4×3 Super-Bantam Contest

I read with interest Alex Arthur’s recent comments in The Sunday Mail that he is planning imminent talks with promoter Frank Warren concerning his future career direction.

Arthur, surprisingly outpointed by Nigel Wright on the undercard of Amir Khan’s one-round demolition of Dimitriy Salita last month, is frustrated over his perceived lack of opportunities and may consider leaving long-time promoter Warren.

“Being on the bill at six o’clock in the evening, as happened on the Khan show at Newcastle this month when I fought Nigel Wright, is not going to happen again. I’m a former world champion who has had more title bouts than most and think I deserve some respect,” Arthur told The Sunday Mail’s reporter Jim Black.

“Ideally I would like to return to the ring at the end of February or the beginning of March. But if Frank says it will be hard for him to work me back into the title mix and is unable to get me meaningful fights I would like to think he will be good enough to release me and let me find another promoter,” Arthur continued.

Arthur’s career has stalled since he lost his WBO super-featherweight title against Nicky Cook on points in September 2008 (on the same evening Amir Khan was wiped out by Breidis Prescott). The Scot blamed his lacklustre display on weight making difficulties, which were evident during his struggle to overcome Stephen Foster Junior nine months earlier.

After conceding that he could no longer drag his 5’9 frame down to the 9st 4lbs super-featherweight limit, Arthur returned to action eight pounds heavier (9st 12lbs, 3lbs above the 9st 9 lightweight championship limit) and looked sharp when blowing out Mohamed Benbiou inside a round. Instead of keeping busy and staying sharp, Arthur remained out of the ring for six months prompting him to make the ill-conceived decision to step up to light-welterweight and box the useful (but beatable) Nigel Wright to get some much needed rounds under his belt.

Arthur’s gamble to tip the scales at a career heaviest 10st 1 ½ lbs badly backfired and the sluggish Scot dropped a 78-76 points decision in front of a sparse Newcastle crowd.

“I’m not going to start blaming other people for what happened because no one forced me to take the fight,” conceded Arthur

“But being on at 6pm in a half empty arena fighting an eight round contest is no use to me. When you’ve been a world champion used to topping the bill or at least featuring as the main support it is impossible to become motivated in these circumstances.”

“My performance definitely suffered because of the timing of the bout but that wasn’t the only reason I lost. I also went into the ring far too heavy and looked quite fleshy, something I have never been in the past. That night I felt as if I was wearing one of the weighted vests we use at training and don’t want to experience that again,” Arthur insisted.

The reality is that irrespective of the time he was boxing, Arthur SHOULD have been sufficiently motivated and with the right attitude SHOULD have been good enough beat Wright. Had he done so, Arthur could have placed himself on the shortlist to challenge Amir Khan in an all-British clash for Khan’s WBA light-welterweight crown.

Clearly, Arthur’s inactivity has been more of a hindrance than a help – the Edinburgh man has boxed only four times in two years. With this in mind, I am astonished that Arthur has turned down Warren’s offer to fight Dagenham’s Kevin Mitchell for Mitchell’s WBO inter-continental lightweight title at Wembley Arena on February 13. Arthur’s justification is that he hasn’t been given enough notice to prepare but by the same token how can he openly criticise Warren for not providing him with the ‘meaningful fights’ he craves?

The fight would be in the lightweight division which is surely where Arthur’s future lies given he is unable to make super-feather and too heavy at light-welter. Victory over Mitchell would also see Arthur take the Dagenham man’s no.1 ranking with the WBO and put him in touching distance of another world title crack.

Mitchell may be unbeaten and coming off an impressive career best victory when taming Breidis Prescott on points last month but an in-form and focused Arthur would stand an excellent chance of beating the Dagenham man. For my money, Mitchell’s victory over Prescott didn’t establish the Mitchell as a world class fighter, it exposed Prescott for the raw, one-dimensional puncher that many knew he really was until Amir Khan foolishly allowed the Colombian to detonate bombs on his unprotected and vulnerable jaw.

Mitchell still has some convincing to do and, remember, badly struggled to overcome Carl Johanneson when capturing the British super-featherweight title, a fighter Arthur would have beaten with something to spare. I can’t help but think that Arthur’s decision will come back to haunt him. Given his loss to Wright, what has he got to lose by taking on Mitchell and what alternative route could Arthur take that is likely to catapult him back into world contention as quickly?

The reality is that Arthur is no longer the big draw he thinks he is or indeed ever was – the Scottish fans never turned out in droves to support Arthur or his countryman Scott Harrison at the peak of their careers. He is coming off a points loss to a fighter who barely scrapes into the top ten British light-welterweight rankings yet, despite this, has been offered a glorious opportunity to box on a major show against a fighter he is capable of beating in arguably his strongest division.

Fighters often blame promoters or their trainers (and Arthur’s had more than his fair share throughout his career) for their lack of progress. Fellow Scot Willie Limond has also been moaning about his stagnating career but has similarly passed on the opportunity to fight Mitchell. Sometimes however, the buck lies with the boxer and if Arthur needs further clarification as to why his career has hit the skids he need look no further than himself.

As we prepare to kick-off 2010 with several intriguing fights, UKFightNews.co.uk (UKFN) has updated its top ten British rankings in each weight division, from heavyweight down to flyweight. Click the link to see where we rank our leading boxers and feel free to email editor Ben Carey with your feedback.

Heavyweight
Over 14st 4lbs
1. David Haye
WBA champ
2. Sam Sexton
Commonwealth champ
3. Martin Rogan
4. Michael Sprott
5. Audley Harrison
6. Derek Chisora
7. John McDermott
8. Tyson Fury
9. Chris Burton
10. Carl Baker

Cruiserweight
14st 4lbs
1. Enzo Maccarinelli
2. Robert Norton
British & Commonwealth champ
3. David Dolan
4. Ovil McKenzie
5. Terry Dunstan
6. Buster Keeton
7. Dean Francis
8. Darren Corbett
9. Jon-Lewis Dickinson
10. Hastings Rasani

Light-heavyweight
12st 7lbs
1. Nathan Cleverly
British & Commonwealth champ
2. Tony Oakey
3. Danny McIntosh
English champ
4. Bob Ajisafe
5. Matthew Barney
6. Darren Stubbs
7. Courtney Fry
8. Tony Bellew
9. Joe Smyth
10. Justyn Hugh

Super-middleweight
12st
1. Carl Froch
WBC champ
2. Paul Smith
British champ
3. Tony Quigley
4. Tony Dodson
5. Paul David
English champ
6. Kenny Anderson
Celtic champ
7. Matthew Thirlwell
8. James DeGale
9. George Groves
10. Tony Salam

Middleweight
11st 6lbs
1. Matthew Macklin
European champ
2. Darren Barker
Commonwealth champ
3. Wayne Elcock
4. Darren McDermott
English champ
5. Martin Murray
6. Paul Samuels
7. Cello Renda
8. Vinnie Baldassara
9. Tony Randell
10. Steve Ede

Light-middleweight
11st
1. Ryan Rhodes
European champ
2. Jamie Moore
3. Anthony Small
British & Commonwealth champ
4. Matthew Hall
5. Bradley Pryce
6. Andrew Facey
English champ
7. Gary Woolcombe
8. Sam Webb
9. Prince Arron
10. Neil Sinclair

Welterweight
10st 7lbs
1. Michael Jennings
2. Kell Brook
British champ
3. John O’Donnell
Commonwealth champ
4. Craig Watson
5. Kevin McIntyre
6. Ashley Theophane
7. Matthew Hatton
8. Adnan Amar
English champ
9. Jamie Cox
10. Mark Thompson

Light-welterweight
10st
1. Ricky Hatton
2. Amir Khan
WBA champ
3. Junior Witter
4. Gavin Rees
5. Paul McCloskey
European champ
6. Ajose Olusegun
Commonwealth champ
7. Lenny Daws
British champ
8. Colin Lynes
9. Nigel Wright
10. Jason Cook

Lightweight
9st 9lbs
1. Kevin Mitchell
2. John Murray
British champ
3. Willie Limmond
4. Lee McAllister
Commonwealth champ
5. Gary Buckland
Celtic champ
6. Henry Castle
7. John Watson
8. Ryan Brawley
9. Lee Cook
10. Liam Walsh

Super-featherweight
9st 4lbs
1. Nicky Cook
2. Ricky Burns
Commonwealth champ
3. Scott Lawton
4. Gary Sykes
5. Anthony Crolla
6. Michael Brodie
7. Andy Morris
8. Kevin O’Hara
9. John Kays
10. Kevin Buckley

Featherweight
9st
1. Martin Lindsay
British champ
2. Paul Appleby
3. John Simpson
Commonwealth champ
4. Paul Truscott
5. Jamie Arthur
6. Esham Pickering
7. Akaash Bhatia
8. Stephen Smith
9. Ryan Walsh
10. Ricky Owen

Super-bantamweight
8st 10lbs
1. Rendall Munroe
European champ
2. Jason Booth
British champ
3. Michael Hunter
4. Matthew Marsh
5. Scott Quigg
6. Stuart Hall
7. Mark Moran
8. Michael Walsh
9. Stephen R Russell
10. Kris Hughes

Bantamweight
8st 6lbs
1. Ian Napa
British champ
2. Gary Davies
3. Martin Power
4. Jamie McDonnell
5. Stuart McFadyen

Super-Flyweight
8st 3lbs
1. Lee Haskins
British & Commonwealth champ
2. Don Broadhurst
3. Ross Burkinshaw
4. Ashley Sexton
5. Mike Robinson

Flyweight
8st
1. Shinny Bayaar
British champ
2. Chris Edwards
3. Usman Ahmed
4. Wayne Bloy
5. Kieran Farrell

Overseas fighters whose careers are now permanently based in the UK appear in the top 10. Fighters are penalised for inactivity. Comments welcome to benjcarey@yahoo.co.uk

Ian Napa has been handed the opportunity to regain the European bantamweight title he previously lost in March.

Malik Bouziane, who dethroned Napa on points at the York Hall has vacated, prompting the EBU to order France’s Jerome Arnould and Napa to contest the vacant European championship. Both parties have until 15 January to reach an agreement or submit purse bids to the EBU offices in Rome.

The 24-year-old Arnould possesses a record of 22-3-1 and the Frenchman is something of a puncher with 14 of his wins coming inside the distance. Arnould challenged for the WBA bantamweight title in June 2007 but was knocked out in seven rounds by Wladimir Sidorenko. He has since bounced back with eight successive wins, five by stoppage.

Napa is currently preparing to defend his British bantamweight title against Jamie McDonnell at the Brentwood Centre on 22 January and knows he can afford no slip-ups. The Hackney stylist regained the British crown in October with a majority points victory over Gary Davies.

Larry Olubamiwo will be pushed towards a British heavyweight title shot because his promoter fears time might catch up.

‘The War Machine’, 31, takes a step up in class when he meets Irish puncher Scott Belshaw at Brentwood Centre on Friday 22nd January. Olubamiwo (6-1) knows an impressive performance against Belshaw (10-3) will put him in the title picture.

The Londoner’s promoter Frank Maloney said: “I am going to start moving Larry up in class this year. If he keeps making progress he should be in a position to fight for the British title by the end of 2010.”

“People might say I am rushing Larry, but he doesn’t have as much time on his side as younger fighters in my stable like Tom Dallas (24) and David Price (26).”

Five of Olubamiwo’s six victims have failed to last two rounds but this has been assembled against a mediocre diet of domestic and eastern European trailhorses. The Hackney slugger was made to look one-dimensional when losing his unbeaten record against journeyman Daniil Peretyatko in a six-round points loss in March but is unlikely to have to go looking for the aggressive Belshaw.

Maloney added: “Belshaw has critics but can hit. I promoted him early on and had real hopes, but our relationship never really worked out. It is a big chance for him to prove me wrong for giving him his contract back. He has lost a couple recently but that was against Tyson Fury and Audley Harrison (both TKO2). If Larry does as good a job then he deserves to be up there.”

Top of the bill is Ian Napa’s (19-7) British bantamweight title defence against Jamie McDonnell (12-2-1). On the same bill Cheshunt’s cocky Ashley Sexton (8-0) faces fellow extrovert Usman Ahmed (6-2-1) in a clash for the vacant English flyweight championship.

On the comeback trail is former British super-featherweight champion Carl Johanneson (27-4) who boxes for the first time since his defeat to Kevin Mitchell in March 2008.

Tickets for this show, priced £80 and £35 are available on line www.frankmaloney.com or 0871 226 1508.

SKY Sports have announced their first batch of televised shows for 2010. Rob Norton’s British and Commonwealth cruiserweight title rematch against David Dolan (pictured) kicks things off at the Altrincham Leisure Centre on Friday January 15.

The pair swapped five knockdowns in February but Norton ultimately prevailed on the judges’ scorecards by the rather bizarre totals of 116-109, 115-110 and 114-111. Despite the drama of the knockdowns the contest was rather scrappy and the rematch between Norton and Dolan may not be a classic either.

However, another rematch on this Hatton Promotions bill is guaranteed to produce fireworks. Middleweights Paul Samuels and Cello Renda will meet again just two months after their dramatic first contest which saw the pair share an unforgettable double knockdown in round two before Samuels rallied to stop Renda in the third. The rematch promises to be another thrilling shoot-out.

Frank Maloney stages his first televised show on January 22 at the Brentwood Centre in Essex. Ian Napa’s British bantamweight title defence against Jamie McDonnell tops the bill (for more details on this bill see previous story).

On January 29 SKY will screen Lee McAllister’s Commonwealth lightweight title defence against Samuel Amoako at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Sports Centre. As tends to be the case with Commonwealth title match-ups staged in Britain this looks a disappointing main event on paper. According to Boxrec, the unbeaten Amoako has fought only six times and has never boxed outside of Accra in Ghana. Worryingly, four of Amoako’s six opponents were winless.

If McAllister-Amoako doesn’t whet the appetite, SKY more than make up for this just 24 hours later when they broadcast the fascinating welterweight clash between legend Shane Mosley and the unbeaten Andre Berto live from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

SKY’s domestic action resumes on 5 February from the Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre in Nottingham. Local favourite Jason Booth’s British super-bantamweight defence against the all-action Matthew Marsh tops Frank Maloney’s show and should provide some quality action. The fight could be made for the European title if Leicester’s Rendall Munroe decides to vacate to concentrate on his forthcoming WBC title final eliminator.

On February 13 SKY will televise Frank Warren’s first show of 2010 which is packed with intriguing match-ups. Red hot welterweight prospect Kell Brook will provide a clearer indication of his world credentials by taking on Poland’s Krzysztof Bienias for the WBO inter-continental title. The Pole has only suffered three defeats in 42 contests. Ominously, perhaps, one of the Pole’s losses was a second round stoppage at the hands of Junior Witter in 2004. Bienias has subsequently won 17 fights on the spin since his setback against Witter so it will be interesting to see how reigning British welterweight champion Brook deals with him.

Warren’s Wembley Arena bill also features Kevin Mitchell against a still to be named opponent. Mitchell will be hoping to build on his excellent points victory over Amir Khan conqueror Breidis Prescott in December as he chases a world title shot at lightweight. Warren also stages a pair of crossroads heavyweight title clashes between prospects and veterans. Sam Sexton and Danny Williams will contest the British and Commonwealth titles whilst undefeated eccentric Derek Chisora tackles the battle-hardened Matt Skelton for the English crown.

The Olympians, James DeGale, Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders, will also be in action on February 13. All three prospects will be gradually stepped up in class in 2010 but southpaw Gavin looks likely to become the first Olympian to challenge for titles. The Birmingham man is already booked to face the seasoned Peter McDonagh which is a fine test for Gavin in just his sixth fight.

Happy New Year.

Ian Napa will defend his British bantamweight title against Jamie McDonnell at the Brentwood Centre on Friday 22nd January.

The pocket-sized Napa, 31, will be making the first defence in his second reign as champion and will give away seven inches in height and eight years in age when he tackles the 5ft 8in challenger from Doncaster.

The flashy Londoner regained the title in October with a deserved majority points win over Gary Davies. It was a victory that saved the career of Napa (19-7) who had lost the European title earlier this year on points to Malik Bouziane.

Promoter Frank Maloney said: “Ian always seems to come back when he has suffered a defeat, but he cannot afford any more if he wants to reach world level.

“His European title loss against Bouziane was a shock to him. After that fight myself and Ian’s trainer Brian Lawrence told him he had to put more in to succeed. I cannot fault his application since and he proved himself once more by defeating Davies.”

McDonnell, 23, (12-2-1) has won his last four fights with three of his victories coming inside the distance. His only defeats were narrow points losses against Lee Haskins and Chris Edwards in a British super-flyweight title challenge.

The winner of Napa and McDonnell could earn themselves a European title shot following Malik Bouziane’s decision to vacate. France’s Jerome Arnould will contest the vacant EBU bantamweight against a still to be nominated co-challenger.

On the same bill Cheshunt’s cocky Ashley Sexton (8-0) faces fellow extrovert Usman Ahmed (6-2-1) in a clash for the vacant English flyweight championship. Former British super-featherweight champion Carl Johanneson (27-4) will also box for the first time since his defeat to Kevin Mitchell in March 2008.

Tickets for this show, priced £80 and £35 are available online at www.frankmaloney.com or by ringing 0871 226 1508

Rendall Munroe has been ordered to face Mexican Victor Terrazas in a final eliminator for the WBC super-bantamweight title.

Leicester southpaw Munroe expects the battle for the right to challenge for Toshiaki Nishioka’s WBC world crown to take place in February or March.

The WBC has mandated the fight and the fighters promoters HG Boxing and Frank Maloney, who handles Munroe, have until January 14 to conclude private negotiations. If no agreement is reached, the fight will go to immediate purse bids.

Maloney said: “Obviously we would like to avoid purse bids and bring Terrazas to England, but appreciate how hard that might be. Whatever happens, at least Rendall knows he is just one win away from the fight he wants so much.”

Terrazas (25-1-1) was knocked out on his pro debut in March 2003, but has remained unbeaten since then (his solitary draw came against debutant Saul Osuna five years ago). The 26-year-old has won 13 fights inside the distance and holds the Mexican super-bantamweight and WBC FECARBOX featherweight titles. Terrazas has yet to fight outside Mexico however and, on paper at least, appears to have been matched cautiously in his 27-fight career.

Munroe (20-1) currently holds the Commonwealth and European super-bantamweight crowns but may relinquish them in the near future to concentrate on his world title final eliminator.

Maloney explained: “Giving up his titles is a possibility because there will be obligations expected. The Commonwealth council have been patient and Rendall has been a fantastic EBU champion and faced every mandatory contender.”

“Because the Terrazas fight appears imminent he will not be able to defend either title in the first few months of 2010 and it would be unfair to hold up other boxers like Jason Booth (who has been nominated to challenge Munroe for his European title – Ed).”

Maloney has revealed that he has already received a “derisory offer” for Munroe to face Terrazas in Mexico.

He added: “Because of the holiday period I haven’t spoke to anybody directly from Terrazas’s promotional team, but I will next week and make a tempting offer We had one offer top go over there which shows they want to put the fight on, but I am just as desperate to get home advantage.”

“It could well go to purses bids in mid-January and I would be hopeful of winning, but we cannot leave anything to chance if the Mexicans win it. They could suddenly put a date on us, but if they did we would already have a training camp in the US or Mexico sorted and be ready to go,” speculated Maloney.