Welsh Area champion Kieran Gething (10-2-2, 2KOs) will challenge Declan Geraghty (20-5, 5KOs) for the vacant WBC International super-lightweight title on November 13 in Newcastle, live on IFL TV.

The Welshman will meet the Irishman on an MTK Fight Night event at Rainton Meadows Arena, topped by local star Thomas P Ward (30-0-1, 4 KOs).

Geraghty is an Irish southpaw who experienced over 200 amateur bouts, representing his country in the World Championships. In his last fight, the 31-year-old knocked out 2-0 Viacheslav Shulaevskyi on foreign soil in the Czech Republic to lift the UBO World super-lightweight title, which is a championship from a German-based governing body founded in 2004.

Gething is the reigning Welsh Area super-lightweight champion, who just broke a long hiatus last month following an elbow injury that kept him away from the ring for almost two years.

The MTK fighter, who captained Wales as an amateur, defeated Manchester’s durable Josh Cook in his last fight over four rounds in September at the Vale Sports Arena in Cardiff.

The 27-year-old from Abergavenny said of his next fight: “I’m already two weeks into camp for this title fight, I was straight back in the gym from my last fight, so the hard work has already begun.

“Winning this title will automatically give me a world ranking with the WBC. The idea is to get into the top 40 and then work upwards from there towards the top 10.”

The previous owner of this green and gold belt was Ohara Davies, who won the Golden Contract tournament that Gething also took part in, in November 2019, but after reaching a stalemate with Jeff Ofori in the quarter-finals, the referee used his deciding vote to put the Londoner through to the semi-finals. Ofori met Ohara there, in the penultimate stage, where he was decked in the third, then stopped in the sixth by the overall tournament winner.

Other former titleholders include Puerto Rico’s finest Miguel Cotto, as well as British legend Ricky Hatton, who won the belt in 2007.

Trained by Tony Borg, Gething added: “To add my name to this list of champions would be amazing!”

The MTK Fight Night in Newcastle on November 13 is headlined by world-ranked Thomas Patrick Ward taking on WBA #5 Leonardo Padilla (20-3, 14 KOs).

The card will be co-promoted alongside Phil Jeffries and will be broadcast live in the US on ESPN+ in association with Top Rank, and worldwide on IFL TV.

Undefeated Ward is back following his win over Edy Valencia Mercado in June, as he looks to build on his current world rankings of WBO #3, IBF #8 and WBA #11 to move a step closer to a world title shot, but standing in his way is another highly-ranked fighter in Venezuela’s Padilla.

In the co-main event, unbeaten rising star Shabaz Masoud (8-0, 2 KOs) has a huge step up in competition, as he goes up against Diego Alberto Ruiz (23-3, 12 KOs), who previously fought Michael Conlan in Belfast back in 2019.

Popular favourite Joe Laws (10-1, 5 KOs) makes his return, while Joe Maphosa (10-1, 1 KO) meets Adam Yahaya (21-7-2, 10 KOs), and undefeated Terry Wilkinson (8-0) clashes with Jordan Ellison (12-34-2, 1KO) for the vacant Northern Area super-lightweight title.

Some of the best local talent will also be on display on the undercard, as Jordan Barker-Porter (1-0), Adam Cope (1-0), Sam Menzies (2-0), and debutant Nathan Cumminsky all compete.

MTK Global Promoter Lee Eaton commented: “We’re delighted to head back to Newcastle and work alongside Phil Jeffries to put on a stacked card next month. We’ve had some memorable nights in the North East in the past and I’m sure it will be more of the same in November.

“The main event sees two fighters with high world-rankings in Thomas Patrick Ward and Leonardo Padilla going head to head, and Ward will be looking to secure another impressive win that can potentially set up a world title shot in 2022.

“Shabaz Masoud is having a massive step up in just his ninth professional fight against Diego Ruiz, and it will be a clear sign to see just how talented he potentially is. It’s brilliant to have Joe Laws back as well, and we’re sure he’ll bring another passionate army of fans with him.”

“Declan Geraghty vs. Kieran Gething is a great fight on the card, and with the likes of Joe Maphosa, Terry Wilkinson, Jordan Barker-Porter, Adam Cope and even more all fighting too, it’s certain to be a can’t miss event.”