Frank Warren will be watching from home when his young talents lead boxing's return to our screens

Tony Mogan10 July 2020

Live boxing returns in the UK on Friday night as Frank Warren stages his first show since the outbreak of the coronavirus. Only the man himself won’t be there.

Covid-19 measures mean there is a strict limit on the number of people who can be in attendance at the BT Sport Studios in Stratford, the new home of behind-closed-doors boxing for the coming weeks.

There is a five-fight limit on each card and those on the bill will be limited to just two men in their corner. Family and friends will be watching on from home on BT Sport along with veteran promoter Warren, who himself doesn’t make the cut for the first show back.

“The family of fighters want to be there to support there to support them. But we can’t have it.” Warren said. “At any stage the maximum we can have is 65 people [in attendance], so we can't even have all the boxers in there at the same time.

“So what am I going to be adding to it? I can’t be at ringside, getting involved and shouting out my tuppence worth. I’ve not got a problem with it. We've got to do the right thing.

“We have some cracking cards to come in the studio and I don’t want any problems. Whatever it takes to get it on, I’m going to do. It’s not about my ego, it’s about making sure we do the right thing.”

Friday’s card is the first of five at the BT facility across the next seven weeks with Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce returning to action in warm-up fights ahead of their planned showdown October 24.

Warren is hopeful that dates sticks this time after cancellations in April and July and crowds will be able to return to arenas by that point. But in the meantime, a host of young, domestic talent will be given a new platform to impress an audience starved of boxing action.

In Pictures | Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce | 07/02/20

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WBO European super-welterweight champion Hamzah Sheeraz, 21, and heavyweight prospect David Adeleye, 23, feature on Friday’s show. Archie Sharp, Dennis McCann and Denzel Bentley are among the host of other names from the Queensberry Promotions stable in action in the coming weeks and having watched the likes of Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood and Manchester City starlet Phil Foden seize their chances since football’s return, Warren believes his young charges can do the same.

“In this environment we are in we have got these youngsters, this is a big moment for them. They are going to get exposure they probably were never going to get if they were appearing on a big show. Their fights might not have got seen.

Warren says Sheeraz and co can be boxing's answer to Greenwood and Foden Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

"They have got the chance to do what the likes of Greenwood, [Bukayo] Saka and Foden have done to go make a name for themselves. They are young and up-and-coming pros. It might jump start their careers that little bit quicker.”

Warren will of course still be a presence on fight night with a camera set up in his front room so he can weigh in on the action between rounds. And while artificial crowd noise has been a feature since the Premier League’s return, there are no plans to use it on Friday night.

The operation at the studio is a stringent one and after being tested throughout the week, fighters will continue to be monitored on the night. The ring will be thoroughly cleaned in between fights and referees will even head backstage to shower in between to ensure new safeguards against Covid-19 are met.

In the event of a fighter or a member of his team testing positive in the coming hours, Warren says there are replacements who could be drafted in. But the message to those involved has been clear from the off – remember your responsibilities.

“We've got some stand-ins in place and fingers crossed they aren’t needed. But it is not just the fighters. It’s the trainers, the cornermen, the whole team. Everybody has got to be really responsible because we don’t want anyone letting us down.

“We cannot afford it. Everybody has got be very conscious of what is at stake here. They are going to have to act very responsible.”

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