Birmingham’s newly crowned light Heavyweight British champ Shakan Pitters (32) has been given the date for the first defence of his Lonsdale belt. The BBColumn's Hall of Famer will be taking on the mandatory challenger Craig Richards (30) Live on Channel 5 on November 14th on the Hennessy Sports Promotion show. Unbeaten Pitters (14-0) was meant to fight Richards originally when the title was vacant but Richards had to pull out due to an injury. Pitters took on Chad Sugden instead, putting in a near-perfect performance winning the title convincingly on points less than a month ago. The only blemish on Richards record is a draw against Sugden in his last fight with Sugden taking the fight at short notice.
Dexter’s Thoughts
No rest for the wicked as team Pitters March on straight into a mandatory defense against Richards. This fight has been on the cards since last December but with injuries and the lockdown has yet to happen. I honestly can’t see Richards causing Pitters any problems and can see Shak going on to win the legendary Lonsdale belt outright. If Shakan continues at this rate he could be changeling for world titles by the end of 2021. He ranked 5th in the UK at the moment and I can see him moving up the ranks in his next few fights. The Birmingham Boxing Column has Championed Shakan from his first fight and will continue to follow the career of this inspirational fighter.