From the glitz and glamour of the MGM Grand Las Vegas to Brentwood Leisure Centre on Saturday night. Yes, I think it's high time I came down to earth after the Pacquiao fight and showcased a local fighter. I've just been down to get a haircut on Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, home to a large north African community, and there are posters everywhere advertising local lad Yassine El Maachi's upcoming fight with Alex Spitko on Saturday night. El Maachi - from Finsbury Park via Morocco - is fighting on the undercard of the British Middleweight title bout between 'Dazzling' Darren Barker of Barnet and Wayne 'Mad Dog' Elcock of Birmingham. The fight and the undercard will be shown live on ITV4 or you can still buy tickets for the fight here.
Yassine 'The Showman' El Maachi's professional record of 10 wins and four defeats at Light Middleweight is hardly going to set the world alight, but he has won six on the trot and looked impressive last time out on the way to a third round victory over Drew Campbell. He's already beaten Latvian-born Sptiko (pictured above), so I'm not quite sure what he's got to gain from fighting him again, apart from the wider exposure he'll get from a televised fight. There's a nice little profile of the former Moroccan amateur champion here.
It's fight nights like these, featuring decent and up-and-coming British fighters, that are the life blood of boxing in this country and it is greatly to ITV's credit that they've managed to fit fights like these into the schedule (even if it's on a freeview channel few people watch). But at least the option is there for those of you who don't fancy a trip to Essex of a Saturday night.
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