Derryman Connor “The Kid” Coyle’s putative world title eliminator with fellow undefeated middleweight contender Austin “Ammo” Williams has been pushed forward to Feb. 3. They clash in The Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for the WBA International and IBF North American titles whose winner will be on the cusp of a world championship fight.
Unbeaten welterweights Conor Benn and Peter Dobson will be the co-feature on the Matchroom card to be broadcast live by DAZN.
Coyle, the NABA [North American Boxing Association] titlist who’s 20-0 [9 KOs] and ranked #6 in the world by the WBA, was earlier scheduled to meet Williams [15-0, 10 KOs] in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 24.
“I’m excited for this fight on Feb. 3,” said Coyle. “Two hungry middleweights going head-to-head to get a step closer to a world title, it’ll be a great fight for anyone’s viewing!”
“It’s my time now to show how good I actually am against a top five world fighter,” Coyle had told the Echo earlier. “I've watched some of his fights; I haven't watched them all, but I've watched parts of this fights. All and all, he’s a good fighter.
“He’s young, he's hungry and he's looking for the same thing I'm looking for. So, we’re both undefeated and we're both gonna be [hoping] to come out with a victory. So, it's gonna be an exciting fight and I'm looking forward to it. Whoever wins will be one step closer to a world title shot.”
Williams, a talented southpaw who, at age 27, is six years Coyle’s junior, is ranked #5 by the WBC and #6 by the IBF. Out of Houston, the Texan is bullish about his chances against Ireland’s best middleweight currently.
“Nothing gets my blood flowing more than the opportunity to break an unbroken fighter,” he said. “February 3, Conor Coyle will experience a world class athlete for the first time, and he will understand why they say there are levels to boxing.”
Ranked #3 by the WBA, Williams is coming off a 10-round unanimous points decision over former world title challenger Steve Rolls last September.
“Ammo versus Connor is a really good clash at 160-pounds with both men needing to underline their world title credentials on the big stage,” said Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn.
MCCRORY VS BERLANGA
The Feb. 24 card in Orlando, Fla., will go on as planned with world ranked super middleweight Padraig “The Hammer” McCrory tackling power puncher Edgar Berlanga.
Although aged 35, McCrory has only had 18 fights in the paid ranks. The Belfast man is undefeated with nine stoppages. He’s competed as high as cruiserweight. McCrory has also held the WBC International Silver super middleweight and IBO light heavyweight titles.
Born in Brooklyn, Berlanga [21-0, 16 KOs] started off as a knockout phenom. He rolled off 16 straight first round KOs after turning pro in 2016 but has gone the distance five times since. The last time was against Donegal’s Jason Quigley at Madison Square Garden last June.
McCrory is ranked #3 by the WBA and #13 by the IBF. Berlanga appears at #4 in the WBO and #6 in the IBF.
