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Macklin vs. Rose WBC Eliminator Added To Joshua-Martin
Updated at 05:46 PM EST, Fri Feb 19, 2016 Read More By :
By Elliot Foster
Brian Rose and Matthew Macklin will square off in an all-British showdown in the spring.
The pair, who will fight in a middleweight contest, are set for action on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's IBF world heavyweight title challenge against Charles Martin, exclusively live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Rose (28-3-1, 8 KOs) and Macklin (34-6, 22 KOs) have had four shots at global honours between them in their careers and the winner is likely to be in line for another, with the fight — which is confirmed for April 9 at London's O2 Arena — set as an official eliminator for the WBC middleweight title.
The coveted green and gold crown, which is currently held by Saúl 'Canelo' Alvárez, will be challenged for by Bolton's Amir Khan on May 7 at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
And upon the fight being confirmed at the show's maiden press conference, Rose called the fight "great," while his manager, Steve Wood, took to Twitter to express his delight.
He said: "[I've] made some great scraps recently for VIP Promotions fighters, [but] none better than [this fight] on April 9 show."
Further undercard fights for the Martin-Joshua bill, which sold out in 90 seconds when tickets went on general sale, are to be revealed in due course.