Essex light-heavyweight, Darrel Church (2-1) has been forced to withdraw from his next fight on December 3rd at Grays Civic Hall due to illness.
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Tonsilillitis
The 26-year-old from Tiptree was due to tackle Darren Snow (0-1-1), 33-years-old from Yorkshire, on a Carl Greaves Promotions show in what was ‘The Baptist’s’ comeback fight from defeat to Angelo ‘Concrete’ Crowe (3-6) in June this year.
The former unbeaten unlicensed star stated:
“I was feeling really good for fight night next week until I was struck down with tonsillitis for the last five days. I was so desperate to fight on that I tried to hide it from my trainer at first.”
Church recently switched training camps to respected boxing coach, Mark Massow’s gym located closer the 175-pounder’s home.
The 42-year-old Firefighter, used to work closely with Frank Maloney and has a mix of amateurs and pros training in his gym.
Massow, a former paratrooper, said:
“He’d not been 100 per cent for a few days but we were hoping he was over the worst of it. I don’t believe in going into a contest with an excuse to lose. If you’re not well or fit enough then you shouldn’t be in there and that was the case with Darrel so it’s better to save himself for another day.”
Church said of his new trainer:
“I know that Mark has made the right decision to pull me out of the show and I thank him for that as I would jump in there and fight under any circumstance but it wouldn’t be the right thing to do and that’s why it is so vital to have a great team around you which I’m proud to say I have.”
Looking To Bounce Back
Unbeaten in 11 fights in the thriving unlicensed boxing scene in Essex, Church turned pro under the guidance of Carl Greaves and debuted in July 2014, defeating Curtis Gargano (0-1-1) on points at the familiar setting for all his pro fights to date – Grays Civic Hall.
He followed up with another points win over debutant Haidar Sadik four months later in November.
In what should have been a hat-trick for Church in June this year, he suffered his first loss to another Carl Greaves managed fighter in Angelo Crowe.
The sole defeat of his boxing career was inevitably difficult for the prospect to take and December’s fight was due to be the return of the hungrier, rejuvenated Essex boxer. He enthused:
“I was feeling really confident and just couldn’t wait to put on a show and prove to everyone just what I could do. It’s fair to say that I’m left feeling pretty gutted, I get no luck, I really don’t!”
He added:
“I won’t dwell on it, I’ll do what any respectable, hungry, young fighter would do, and that’s to come back stronger.”
Full Card Info
The Carl Greaves Promotions show will still proceed on the first Thursday of December and promises to be an action-packed event regardless of Church’s withdrawal.
Former teammate, Paul Hilz (2-1) headlines the show vying for the new English Challenge middleweight belt against another local fighter Scott Douglas (2-3-2), 37-years-old from Chadwell St. Mary.
Former ABA champion, ‘Lethal’ Lucien Reid (2-0) goes up against Hertfordshire boxer, David Leo (3-2) in a four-round featherweight contest.
Yet another product of the talent-laden West Ham ABC, Reid is trained by Peter Sims in Essex and promoted by Matchroom Boxing. Big things are expected from the 22-year-old prospect.
Nigerian super-lightweight, Idris Hill (1-0), 30-years-old from Westcliff-on-Sea, competes in his second six-threes against Ibrar Riyaz (4-88-3), also 30, from Reading.
The ‘Conqueror’ from Romford, Tony Conquest (15-2), a former Commonwealth champion, participates in a four-round cruiserweight bout with opponent yet to be named.
Middleweight debutant Paul Southwick kicks off his pro career over four three-minute rounds.
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