CHRIS JENKINS believes he’ll finally ditch his nearly man tag when he challenges British welterweight champion Johnny Garton.

Swansea’s Jenkins (20-3-2) makes his third British title attempt when he faces Garton at London’s Royal Albert Hall this Friday night, live on BT Sport.

Jenkins drew and lost a close points decision against Tyrone Nurse in super-lightweight title contests back in 2015.

Hard luck came his way last year. Bad cuts saw him lose a technical decision against Akeem Ennis-Brown followed by a technical draw against Darragh Foley in international title battles.

“I just hope that this is my time in a British title fight,” said Jenkins who warmed up for his big fight by outpointing Edvinas Puplauskas in early February.

Jenkins, 30, added: “There are so many fighters, who get so close yet so far.

“I don’t want to be known as the ‘almost man’ or the unluckiest Welsh boxer because of cuts and close decisions going against me.

“The cuts are in the back of my mind, but I have to try and put it away and just box to the instructions my trainer Gary Lockett gives me.

“We will see what happens on the night, but I am confident in my own ability and if I box to instructions from Gary I can beat anybody.

“Hopefully there will be no cuts and I will do what I have to do to become British champion.”

Garton (23-1-1) has been one of the biggest surprises in British boxing in recent years and admits he never expected to get this far.

Jenkins is one of the few who spotted Garton’s potential when they sparred for five rounds.

Chris explained: “A few years ago I went to Johnny’s gym when Liam Williams was sparring with Bradley Skeete and we did a few rounds together.

“It was a good even spar and a nice move around for both of us.

“I thought Gary Corcoran was a tough fight for Johnny because he gave Liam Williams a hard fight, but everything he did was good and he drew Gary into the fight he wanted.

“I am not surprised to see Johnny do well. He trains very hard, is a good fighter, Alan Smith is a good trainer and he trains in a champions gym. Success breeds success.”

The British welterweight title clash between the Pexican, Johnny Garton and Chris Jenkins takes place at the Royal Albert Hall this Friday March 8, live on BT Sport. Daniel Dubois v Razvan Cojanu and Anthony Yarde defending his WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title against Travis Reeves tops a huge night of boxing that also includes the British middleweight title clash between Liam Williams and Joe Mullender. Also on the bill is unbeaten featherweight Lucien Reid, who takes on his toughest test to date against Birmingham’s Indi Sangha, while unbeaten prospects Hamza Sheeraz, Denzel Bentley, Jake Pettitt, James Branch jr and Harvey Horn feature on the show.

Tickets are priced from £40 and are available to buy via www.RoyalAlbertHall.com

JOHNNY GARTON INSISTS that putting on the gloves for the first time had nothing to do with improving his prospects in the pecking order of Peckham, where he grew up and remains a man about town to this day.

The Pexican, as he is fondly known, did not venture into the local gym as a sporting route to escape a life of potential crime. His story is far more mundane – and familiar to many – in that he simply needed to shed some inches from his waistline.

However, Garton does admit to being something of a street urchin in his younger days and his fists weren’t exactly unemployed, in a town where they breed them tough, before he took up punching for a living.

“It is known as a pretty tough town but, to be honest, I’ve lived there all my life so I don’t know any different,” explained the now 31-year-old, who defends his recently won British welterweight title for the first time against Chris Jenkins at the Royal Albert Hall on March 8. “To me it is just normal.
“I grew up on the Clifton Estate – which is just off the Queen’s Road – and I loved it because there was loads of kids about and everybody knew each other. We were always playing up, getting into trouble and, obviously, having a tear-up every now and then.

“At the end of the day we all got along and it was only when we turned into teens that it got a bit hairy. We got into more trouble and started to get into fights with other estates.”

In what could be described as an echo of the grown up Garton, the younger version would also always give a good account of himself when drawn into a scrap, although he admits he wasn’t leader of the pack.

“Not really, I wasn’t one of the hierarchy, but I think I had everyone’s respect because they knew if they did pick a fight, they would get a fight. Not many started on me so I didn’t have to be fighting all the time.”

The turning point for Garton – and his waistline – came when he was inspired to swap pints for punching and followed a friend into the local boxing gym. On starting work he wasn’t just earning pounds, but also putting them on.

“It was just to lose weight,” admitted the 23-1-1 British champ. “I started work when I was 15 on Saturdays as a mechanic and they put me on an apprenticeship when I finished school. So as soon as I finished work I was just going down the pub, eating a lot, drinking a lot…

“Then one of my mates said he was going to the gym to lose some weight and I went with him.

“I went a few times and some of the kids asked me to do some sparring and bashed the crap out of me, with me just being a kid off the street thinking I could fight everyone. Boxing is a totally different game and I kept going back trying to get the better of them.

“Slowly, after time, I noticed that people didn’t want to spar me as much and it went from there.”

Peckham is perhaps most famous for being the south east London setting of the comedy Only Fools and Horses, where the exploits of Del Boy and Rodders charmed the nation for over 20 years.

Garton reports that the suits and swagger, along with the vocabulary, that characterised Del Boy didn’t catch on in a big way on the real life streets and pubs of Peckham when he was growing up.

“Not really, it was more kids being as we call them, roadmen, people walking around with their hoods up or a hat on trying to keep their faces covered up or trying to be a tough man.

“There was a bit of the talk used, but not too much because Del Boy was just a bit before my era, so it was as the kids talk now and a bit more street.”

The British welterweight title clash between the Pexican, Johnny Garton and Chris Jenkins takes place at the Royal Albert Hall on Friday March 8, live on BT Sport. Daniel Dubois v Razvan Cojanu and Anthony Yarde defending his WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title against Travis Reeves tops a huge night of boxing that also includes the British middleweight title clash between Liam Williams and Joe Mullender. Also on the bills is unbeaten featherweight Lucien Reid, who takes on his toughest test to date against Birmingham’s Indi Sangha, while unbeaten prospects Hamza Sheeraz, Denzel Bentley, Jake Pettitt, James Branch jr and Harvey Horn feature on the show.

Tickets are priced from £40 and are available to buy via www.RoyalAlbertHall.com

BRITISH WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION Johnny Garton reflected that his professional career did not get off to the most auspicious beginnings, partly because his own trainer wasn’t hugely enthused over the prospect of working with him.

Garton did indeed end up learning the pro ropes at the iBox Gym in Bromley under the tutelage of Alan Smith, who is known in the business as a specialist in harnessing the talents of more defensively-minded, stylish counter punchers.

The now 31-year-old Garton wasn’t the ideal horse for the course at Smith’s stable of thoroughbreds because, by his own admission, his amateur skillset was limited at best.

“I believe I had 30-35 fights and lost about ten, maybe a few more,” revealed the fighter known as The Pexican, dubbed as such due to his all-action style and hailing from Peckham.

“I wasn’t the greatest and I was even worse as an amateur – even more of a slugger!

“I used to just have a tear-up for three rounds and knew on turning pro that I needed to change.

“I remember speaking to Al and he wasn’t overly keen because he knew I got hit too much. But I knew Al was the right coach, so I kept chipping away and kept coming back and annoying him.

“Here we are now,” pointed out Garton, who makes a first defence of his title at the Royal Albert Hall on March 8 against Chris Jenkins.

“I broke the mould at this gym! But I am bringing titles back and that is the main thing,” he added, before conceding that he never imagined making a living from boxing when his primary aim was selling enough tickets to even step into the ring.

“Never, no. Most of my career, up to about two years ago, was all ticket deals where if you don’t sell tickets you don’t fight and earning little money.

“I haven’t really earned much money from the sport and that is why I am chasing the purses now.

“It was massively disheartening back then but I love the sport of boxing and I always had my job to fall back on. At times when you saw people doing well with big pay days it was a bit of a kick in the teeth.”

A turning point for Garton came in December 2017 when he added the IBF European title to the Southern Area and English belts he had previously won after a bruising encounter with Mihail Orlov at the Copper Box.

“I’d just got signed by Frank (Warren) then and it was such a good fight that they showed it back on BoxNation. From there I think people started taking an interest in me.”

Now the Garton story moves on to probably the grandest venue of all in South Kensington on Friday March 8, live on BT Sport.

“It is a breath-taking venue and, to me, it doesn’t seem like a boxing venue because it is too nice. I can’t wait to get out there and for my supporters to see it.”

Also at the Royal Albert Hall, Nicola Adams OBE will look to make history and be the first female crowned World Champion at the venue as she challenges for the WBO World Flyweight Title against Arely Mucino on International Women’s Day.

Liam Williams makes a first defence of his British middleweight title against Joe Mullender, while Johnny Garton will defend his British Welterweight title against Chris Jenkins. Lucien Reid will fight Indi Sangha in what will be his toughest test to date, with GB Flyweight Harvey Horn, cruiserweight talent James Branch and middleweight banger Denzel Bentley also featuring.

Tickets are priced from £40 and are available to buy via RoyalAlbertHall.com
TICKETS START FROM £40
GRAND TIER: £100
LOGGIA: £100
SECOND TIER: £75

JOHNNY GARTON WILL make a first defence of his British welterweight title against Chris Jenkins at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Pexican collected the treasured Lonsdale belt following a thrilling encounter with Gary Corcoran in October – stopping the Wembley man in the 11th round – and he now faces the tough Welshman on March 8 when boxing makes its return to the historic South Kensington venue.

Jenkins, 30, has twice before challenged for the British title at super lightweight. As a then unbeaten fighter in July 2015, he took on Tyrone Nurse for the vacant title and an exciting fight was declared a majority draw by the judges.

The pair rematched four months later and Nurse prevailed in another closely contested bout.
The 20-3-2 Jenkins has subsequently added a further four wins to his record, but has also suffered the misfortune of severe cuts curtailing two of his fights against Akeem Ennis-Brown and Darragh Foley.

“There were rumours that I would be fighting Chris and now it is confirmed,” reacted the champion to news of his defence being booked in. “I think it is a good tough fight and I am looking forward to it.

“We both cut easily so I would put my money on a bit of blood being spilt on the canvas!”

“Chris is a very tough man and he has been down here at our gym sparring before when Liam Williams also came down. It was a very good spar between us, very hard, and I expect the same on the night.

“He is very energetic and a bit of a crazy fella – it is going to be good,” added the Alan Smith-trained Garton, who claims he will employ some technical boxing to add to his typical marauding style.

“We are always working on technique because I can’t keep plodding forward like I have done in my last couple of fights. I need to work on things and I think you might see something different from me in this fight.”

Elsewhere on the show at the Royal Albert Hall, Nicola Adams OBE will look to make history and be the first female crowned World Champion at the venue as she challenges for the WBO World Flyweight Title against Arely Mucino on International Women’s Day. Daniel Dubois follows in the footsteps of British heavyweight greats to fight at the Hall and takes on Razvan Cojanu in his tenth fight. Liam Williams puts his newly won British Middleweight Title on the line against Brentwood bruiser Joe Mullender. Lucien Reid will fight Indi Sangha in what will be his toughest test to date, while GB Flyweight Harvey Horn and Cruiserweight talent James Branch feature.

Tickets are priced from £40 and are available to buy via RoyalAlbertHall.com
TICKETS START FROM £40
GRAND TIER: £100
LOGGIA: £100
SECOND TIER: £75

Johnny Garton described winning the British title as a ‘dream come true’ whilst sitting on the edge of the ring apron on Saturday evening, the Lord Lonsdale challenge belt wrapped around his shoulder and a massive smile upon his bruised and bloodied face.

The dream was made reality after coming out the victor in an all-out war on Saturday night against a former world title challenger in Gary Corcoran for the vacant British welterweight title.

A nasty gash on the top of Garton’s forehead continuously flooded his face with blood throughout the contest, but it didn’t affect his performance the slightest, stunningly halting Corcoran in the eleventh round.

“It hasn’t sunk in at all!” said the man known as ‘The Pexican’, still in shock of his achievement.

“I can’t explain it, it’s an unbelievable feeling. My phone hasn’t stopped with people telling me congratulations, it’s been mad!”

An achievement on this scale usually requires a celebration afterwards, but despite finding himself up ‘the boozer’ later in the evening, it wasn’t necking pints and shots in Johnny’s plans.

“I saw everyone who came out to support me after the fight at a pub over in Bermondsey, I don’t drink, it was more just to say thank you to everyone… that’s the craziest it has got to be honest!

“I haven’t celebrated really. I went out with the family Sunday for something to eat and that is pretty much it.”

After winning the championship, the obvious next hurdle to jump is to win the Lord Lonsdale championship belt outright by defending the prestigious title three times.

The right to showcase the belt on his mantelpiece indefinitely might well be the plan, but the 31-year-old won’t have any hesitation aborting this mission if a lucrative offer arises.

“I’ve got to think about my family” admitted Garton.

“As it stands, I will be looking at winning the title outright, but if other opportunities come up with more money on the table, my family comes first and that is the direction I will head in.”

The quizzing has already begun regarding Johnny’s next opponent with the likes of amateur stand-out Josh Kelly being mentioned. The welterweight division on the domestic scene is full of fighters ready and waiting to fight for the belt.

“Before I won the title, I’d been chasing fights my whole career, but now I’ve got the belt it’s going to make things a lot easier to get these fights. I’m easy, I just leave it to my team and they’ll sort out who I’m fighting next.”

Anthony Yarde stopped Walter Sequeira in round four of their scheduled 10-round light heavyweight bout.

Yarde scored three knockdowns, and the nout was stopped at 2:14 of round four.

Yarde, 173 1/2 lbs is 17-0 with 16 knockouts. Sequieira, 174 1/4 lbs is 20-5.

Joe Mullender stopped Ben Capps in round seven of their scheduled ten-round super middleweight fight.

Mullender dropped Capps with a right hand in round seven. Moments later, it was a body shot that sent Capps down, and the fight was over at 1:36.

Mullender, 160 lbs is now 11-2 with five knockouts. Capps is 15-5-2.

Johnny Garton stopped former world title challenger Gary Corocoran in round 11 of a scheduled 12 round welterweight bout.

The fight had plenty of back and forth action throughout the bout.

In round three, Garton was cut under the right eye. The cut got worse and blood streamed down and covered the face of Garton.

In round 11, Garton landed a hard right hand that staggered Corocoan back to the ropes. Garton leveled Corocoan with hard shots, and the fight was stopped at 42 seconds.

Garton 146 lbs is now 23-1-1 with 10 knockouts. Corcoran, 146 lbs is now 18-3.

In a battle of undefeated super middlewights, Zak Chelli won a eight-round decision over Umar Sadiq

In round six, Cehlli dropped Sadiq with a hard right hand. Sadiq made a furious rally in the final round, and bloodied the nose of Chelli.

Chelli won by a score of 77-74, and is now 5-0. Sadiq is 3-1.

Nathan Gorman decisioned Kamil Sokolowski in a heavyweight bout.

Gorman, 255 lbs won by a score of 79-73 and is now 14-0. Sokolowski is 5-13-2.

Hamzah Sheerez won a four-round decision over Zygimantas Butkevicius in a super welterweight bout.

Sheerez won by a score of 40-36, and is now 5-0. Butkevicius is 1-14.

JOHNNY GARTON ADMITS that Gary Corcoran is a man after his own heart.

The pair come together in combat on Saturday at the Brentwood Centre – live on BT Sport – with the British welterweight title at stake.

The 31-year-old from Peckham – known as ‘The Pexican’ – insists there is no animosity on his part heading into the clash against ‘The Hellraiser’ from Wembley and actually places on record his admiration for the world title challenger, who was stopped in 11 by Jeff Horn in Brisbane last December.

It is a no quarter asked or likely to be given sort of fight and, the thinking in training circles is, whoever listens most to the wise words in the corner is expected to have the edge.

However, Garton – who expects to be roared on by some 250 Pexicans – fully anticipates himself and Corcoran reverting to type before too long.

“My trainer has said that the one of me and Gary who listens most in the corner will win and I do believe Al (Smith) is right there,” considered the IBF European champion. “But this is going one way and me and Gary both know that no matter how technical we try and be, at some point in this fight we are going to stand in the middle and go at it.

“And I am more than happy to do that!

“Gary likes to come out fast and I am prepared for whatever, all I’ve worked for is a tough night and a tough 12 rounds. Gary is also super-fit and that is one thing we know for sure about him. He is also very strong and game, so we know we are going to do it tough.

“I’d say Gary will be the favourite in this fight and I think he deserves to be. He had a better amateur career, he’s boxed at a higher level than I have as a pro and he has boxed better names.

“I like Gary and I have no problems with him. At the end of the day he is just who I’ve got to fight and he is my type of fighter. He will fight anyone, he’s game and he comes forward. That is what I like in people.”

Anthony Yarde will be headlining the Brentwood Centre on October 20th when he faces Argentinian Walter Gabriel Sequeira. World title challenger Gary Corcoran and Johnny Garton will contest the vacant British welterweight title. Zak Chelli and Umar Sadiq will both be putting their young, undefeated records on the line in a super-middleweight contest. Heavyweight Nathan Gorman will also feature along with IBF European Middleweight Champion Joe Mullender on the show televised live on BT Sport.

Remaining tickets are available at the Brentwood Centre box office or via calling the Queensberry Promotions Box Office on 01992845710.

GARY CORCORAN is planning to wreck gym-mates Johnny Garton and Bradley Skeete inside the next few months.

The former world title challenger attempts the first leg of the double when he challenges Garton for the vacant British welterweight title at the Brentwood Centre on Saturday October 20th.

Skeete relinquished the title allowing his iBox Gym mate, Garton (22-1-1) to challenge Wembley traveller Corcoran for the British title.

Corcoran (18-2) is annoyed that Skeete gave up the title and swerved him, adding: “There must be some reason why Bradley doesn’t want to fight me, but after Johnny I say, ‘Bring on Bradley’.

“I have chased Bradley for a long time and it has never happened, and if it doesn’t take place early next year we will never fight.

“I will not be overlooking Johnny who has done so well in his career, but his ambition is to be British champion. Mine is to be a world champion.

“We all know that Johnny is a come forward fighter, but if he tries boxing me I will box his head off. Whatever happens, I will hunt him down and beat him up.

“I am going to be too big and strong for Johnny. I am a level above Johnny and I will show it on the night.”

Corcoran, 27, is desperate to leave domestic level behind him once again and get back among the welterweight division’s elite.

His defeats came on points against Liam Williams more than two years and in a WBO world title challenge against Jeff Horn in Brisbane last December when he was stopped in 11 rounds.

Sandwiched between those setback was a win over highly ranked Nigerian Larry Ekundayo.

He added: “I know that on my day I can mix it with the best welterweights and apart from maybe Bradley, I am levels above most of these kids in Britain.

“I have lost to world class fighters. Johnny hasn’t fought anybody like that.

“Bradley fought one world class opponent, Kerman Lejarraga and got stopped in two rounds. I’ve boxed and beaten someone at a higher level than Bradley in Ekundayo.

“I want to get back on the world scene. If I am going to lose I am going to go out on my shield against world class fighters.

“I have had 20 fights to learn and have another 20 fights to earn before I retire.”

Anthony Yarde will be headlining the Brentwood Centre on October 20th when he faces Argentinian Walter Gabriel Sequeira. World title challenger Gary Corcoran and ‘The Pexican’ Johnny Garton will contest the vacant British welterweight title. Zak Chelli and Umar Sadiq will both be putting their young, undefeated records on the line in a super-middleweight contest. Heavyweight Nathan Gorman will also feature on the show televised live on BT Sport.

Tickets are priced at £40, £100, £150 and are available to purchase from Ticketmaster.