Anders Eggan (3-0, 1 KO) has been ruled out of his fight with Frane Radnic (11-11, 10 KOs) on March 2 at the SØR Amfi in Arendal on the undercard of Kai Robin Havnaa’s clash with Rad Rashid after injuring his hand in sparring.

“I injured the knuckle on my right hand in sparring,” explains Eggan. “The tissue is really damaged and doctors have told me I need to rest my hand for five weeks to allow it to heal correctly. I’m disappointed as I was looking forward to boxing in Arendal, but unfortunately these injuries happen in boxing. I have to follow my doctors’ advice, and hopefully, I’ll be ready to fight again soon.”

Fight fans can still look forward to an action-packed event in Arendal. Local hero Kai Robin Havnaa returns to the SØR Amfi to headline his hometown arena in his toughest career test against Germany’s Rad ‘Thunder’ Rashid.

Katharina Thanderz provides chief support with a super featherweight contest against Rachel Ball, Hadi Srour is back in the professional ring to meet Zoltan Szabo, and Kristiansand’s Jamshid Nazari takes on Ivica Gogosevic.

Iain Butcher believes going up against a fellow Scot in his next fight gives him an added incentive to earn the victory.

Butcher (18-4) challenges Scott Allan for his Celtic bantamweight title at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on March 22 – live on iFL TV.

The two men have been well aware of each other for a while, and Butcher is hoping he will be the one who claims bragging rights.

Butcher said: “There’s always a big incentive when it’s the same countrymen boxing. With this one being for the Celtic title and Scott Allen being close in the area that we stay in, then it makes it more of a rivalry.

“This fight has been spoke about for a few years as we’ve boxed previous in the amateurs and done hundreds of rounds sparring, so it’s quite a big fight between both of us.

“I learned a lot from my last fight and it’s made me a better fighter all round. I’m looking to capitalise on that in this training camp.”

Also on the card is a WBC International Silver super welterweight fight between Kieran Smith and Adam Harper.

Michael McGurk, Lewis Benson, David Brophy and Callum McAulay are among the names on the undercard.

Decorated amateur Davey Oliver Joyce believes amateur experience gives him a clear edge over WBO European title rival Stephen Tiffney.

 

‘The Punisher’ Joyce (9-0-KO7) clashes with Scotland’s Tiffney (10-1-KO4) at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester on March 15 – live on iFL TV – and is confident of taking home the vacant featherweight crown.

Joyce said: “As an amateur, I boxed some of the best in the world but regardless of the opponent, there’s been no messing about. This guy will bring the best out of me and I’ll show the world what I’m about.

“He’s a decent guy and he’s a good, stronger fighter. I’ve never sparred him but I know his style. He’s a switcher. I’m not going to take anything for granted because he’ll come with a game plan.

“I won’t disrespect him but I’ve got an amateur record behind me and he hasn’t. I bring everything – all those experiences at world, Europeans and Olympic level – with me. He doesn’t have a good amateur record so I have it all to lose.

“I’m going to bring some people from Mullingar and he’s going to bring some down from Scotland and we’re going to meet on neutral ground. It’s neither of our hometowns but that’ll make for a very good atmosphere.

“This is a great show for MTK Global. Some people don’t have subscription channels and now all they need to do is watch it for free on iFL TV.”

Joyce won two European Union gold medals in the amateur ranks and was selected for the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he reached the last 16.

In addition to Joyce vs. Tiffney, the MTK Global card in Manchester features the likes of Raza Hamza, Macaulay McGowan, Ben Sheedy, Craig Bunn and more.

MTK Global is delighted to announce the signing of WBO Youth African champion Luyanda Ntwanambe, who will operate as part of the recently-formed MTK Africa.

The flyweight ‘Pretty Boy’, who is trained by Ben Mtyhaleseli, won multiple trophies as an amateur and has raced to a record of 5-0-1 since turning professional in 2017.

Ntwanambe said: “As a young fighter, I want the best for myself and for my career to blossom as soon as possible and this will help me achieve that.

“With MTK Global, I believe I’m destined to receive the right opportunities at the right time, so this is the perfect move for my boxing career at this stage.

“I had a relatively short amateur career before turning professional and I’m still learning. I took it up because it’s very popular in my township and now I plan to keep improving and winning more titles.”

Head of MTK Africa Colin Nathan added: “We’re delighted to have secured the signing of Luyanda and believe him to be one of the most promising talents in African boxing.

“The exciting thing about Luyanda is that while he’s already shown a significant level of ability, there’s so much more to come in terms of improvement.

“We’re sure fans will enjoy his style and we look forward to helping him achieve all he wants to achieve in this sport.”