The Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham will host Eddie Hearn and his Matchroom Boxing promotion’s 11-fight event this Saturday night, with the feature fights set to air on SKY in the United Kingdom. The main event is in the welterweight division, where Sam Eggington (14-2) faces Joseph Lamptey (18-5-1) for the vacant Commonwealth title. Several Bookmakers has posted Eggington as the (-2000) favorite going into the fight, with the comeback on Lamptey at (+1100). There is no over/under yet for this scheduled twelve round bout. Eggington has won five fights in a row over the course of the last year. His two losses have come in the shortened “Prizefighter” tournament format where he has lost decisions in three round bouts. Known as “The Savage”, Eggington brings good power, and he has earned four of his eight knock outs after the fifth round. Lamptey is from Ghana, with the majority of his fights coming back home. He has won seven fights in a row since losing to King Davidson (14-1 at the time) in his lone previous fight in the United Kingdom. He has fought several times for regional belts, and he has fought at Super Welterweight earlier in his career. The big news on the card was the late edition of Britain’s Heavyweight sensation Anthony Joshua (11-0), who faces veteran Raphael Zumbano Love (36-10-1) in a match scheduled for eight rounds. Joshua last fought on April 4th, where he took out Jason Gavern in the third round of their bout. Joshua, the Olympic gold medalist in 2012, has been on the fast track building his record, and he has had trouble putting in ring-time. This one is expected to go as all previous Anthony Joshua fights have gone, and that is by early stoppage, as Joshua is a huge (-11000) favorite over Zumbano Love, who is returning at (+3000). Joshua’s expected test is scheduled for May 30th, as he faces veteran Kevin Johnson (29-6-1). Though Johnson has dropped three fights in a row, he has a reputation for being sturdy, and he has gone the distance with the likes of Tyson Fury and Vitali Klitschko, so Joshua is looking for that coveted ting-time. This match against Zubano Love was added at the last moment, and the Brazilian is expected to be just another blip on the radar for Joshua. Also featured on the card is local veteran Matthew Macklin (31-6) as he eases back into competition with an eight rounder against Ferenc Albert (12-7). Macklin last fought in November of 2014, when he was KO’d by Jorge Sebastian Heiland, and he is (3-4) in his last seven outings, which includes matches against Felizx Sturm, Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin.
