Matchroom promotions have seen the return of one of its Spanish boxers in recent times. Now the time has come for another Spanish boxer from the promotion to show his worth. The Kerman Lejarraga vs. James Metcalf match will take place on Friday, May 20, at the Bilbao Arena in Bilbao, Spain. It will see Kerman Lejarranga take on British boxer James Metcalf. The Spaniard had a great knockout victory at the end of the previous year. He will be seeking to get a great victory with another all-around performance that would take him to his initial World Championship challenge. James Metcalf is from Merseyside and is a former Commonwealth titleholder. He has lost out on a few of his previous matches to Ted Cheeseman in a British upper welterweight championship challenge. Following that, he lost to one of the top prospects Kieron Conway. Both of the defeats happened in the previous year. The boxer now wants to get back to winning some matches this year. But he is up against a great rival in the form of European champ Lejarrange. He has defeated more than five boxers of British origin already. This includes Jack Flately, Jez Smith, Tyrone Nurse, Bradley Skeete, Frankie Gavin, and Denton Vassell.
Spain is going through a great time in the world of boxing. This is because boxers from the nation are getting good chances because of their talent. Kerman Lejarrange is one of the warriors from the nation who will go in the ring at the Bilbao Arena to fight British boxer, James Metcalf. The match is going to be held for the World Boxing Association Super Welterweight title. The promoters of the match have said that they will make a huge event in Bilbao and the Spanish boxer will be the main protagonist. The boxer is a native of the town and has gained recognition all over the world for his incredible matches and the excitement that he has instilled in the fans of this nation. The boxer will have a great chance to box in his own backyard and claim a chance for a regional title of such repute. He is already in good touch with more than five consecutive victories and three knockouts in his professional career. But the boxer from Britain will not be an easy challenge for the hometown hero.
Metcalf has registered a few defeats in the previous year. But he has a good record overall and has some motivation not to extend his losing streak any longer. He had lost his previous fight against Kieron Conway in a close match. The promoters of the match and the local organizations are also happy that places such as Bilbao can host such great matches. Kerman Lejarraga said, "I'm happy to return to Bilbao before a great fight with Metcalf. Then I'm ready for a World Title. My team knows it!" Ed Breeze, EVP Rights at DAZN, said, "Spanish boxing is on the rise, and we're thrilled to work with Matchroom Boxing to bring Spanish boxing fans, and fans around the world, the best fighting the best. Sandor Martin faces a tough challenge in Jose Felix for the WBA International Super-Lightweight title after a career-changing win against Mikey Garcia. Hometown hero Kerman Lejarraga takes on another British rival James Metcalf, looking for a statement and future first World title shot. Don't miss all the action. Live worldwide on DAZN."
Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith said, "We're really excited to be returning to Spain with these two consecutive events, live on DAZN. There is absolutely no doubt that Spanish boxing is in the healthiest position it has ever been in – with huge wins by last year for Sandor Martin, Kerman Lejarraga, and of course, Kiko Martinez. We want to ride that wave and keep delivering big events to the market! The atmosphere in Barcelona and Bilbao is always special, and we look forward to two massive events over the coming months."
Kerman Lejarraga vs. James Metcalf: James Metcalf's Background
More than a decade ago, the British boxer James Metcalf made his professional boxing debut. He got a points decision win against Kevin McCauley in Wigan, England. After getting more than sixteen wins without any losses, he was going to go against Jorge Fortea for the WBC International super-welterweight championship belt. This was going to be a part of the undercard for the comeback match of Tyson Fury against Sefer Seferi. The time before the match, Fortea withdrew from the match, and Aitor Nieto stepped in as a replacement. The Britisher defeated the replacement boxer by technical knockout to get the WBC International championship belt. He is going to return to the same arena to defend his championship belt against former Commonwealth and British super-welterweight titleholder Liam Williams on the undercard of the world championship match between Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton.
But the match was put in doubt after Metcalf had an ankle injury. He informed the promoter that he would inform them a month before going ahead with the match. But the promoters kept a replacement ready if Metcalf did not participate in the match. Finally, Williams decided to fight for the replacement for the British middleweight championship belt. This was even after Metcalf had said that he was interested in going ahead with the match. After the match with Williams did not happen, the next match of Metcalf came against Santon Medrano in a non-championship match. Metcalf got a knockout win in the final round. He got a hand injury in the match against Medrano. So, it was expected that the boxer would not be involved in a match again until the end of that year. But he was raring to go against the former British middleweight champ Jason Welborn for the Commonwealth super-welterweight championship match in Leeds. This was again going to be on the undercard of a match of Josh Warrington, who was going against Kid Galahad.
It was a match in which Metcalf got a deduction in his points for repeated low blows. In the final round, he got a knockout victory with a hook to the body to get the Commonwealth championship belt. After that, he got a technical knockout victory against Jan Balog a couple of years ago. He challenged Ted Cheeseman for the British super-welterweight championship match. The match was held at the Europa Point Sports Complex. The match was a part of the undercard of the match between Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin. It was televised live in Britain. The match was very closely contested. The British boxer was quite hurt and was on unsteady legs in the middle of the match itself. But he was able to close out that round successfully. After that, he was able to hurt his rival in the subsequent rounds. But his rival came back with some great combinations to knock Metcalf to the canvas. The British boxer made it back to his feet but was quite unsteady. This made the referee stop the match. It handed the boxer his first technical knockout loss in his career.
|
Tale of The Tape |
Kerman Lejarraga |
James Metcalf |
|---|---|---|
|
Wins |
34 |
21 |
|
Lost |
2 |
2 |
|
KOs |
26 |
13 |
|
Draws |
0 |
0 |
|
Total Bouts |
36 |
23 |
|
KO% |
72% |
57% |
|
Height |
5'10" |
5'8" |
|
Stance |
Orthodox |
Orthodox |
|
Nationality |
Bilbao, Pais Vasco, Spain |
Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom |
|
Date of Birth |
1992-02-19 |
1988-07-27 |