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Najib warns McCullagh he is still in for a tough night

Razaq Najib [11(2)-3(0)] has warned Tyrone McCullagh [13(6)-0] he still has a fight on his hands tonight.

Sheffield’s ‘Lionheart’ has been called into the Golden Contract after the withdrawal of Mexico’s Carlos Araujo and faces ‘White Chocolate’ in tonight’s quarter-finals at York Hall.

Having ‘celebrated and hugged coach Ryan Rhodes’ while on the way down to what he thought was a slot on the undercard, Najib now has the chance of a lifetime to snatch the lucrative promotional deal.

The English fighter now gets to open the broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK in association with Matchroom Boxing and on ESPN+ in the US in association with Top Rank and can’t believehis luck.

“I’m buzzing. We were driving down from Sheffield to London and for the last few days, we’ve been joking around about the possibility of someone dropping out,” he said.

“It’s a good thing and I’m glad it’s come. It all happened today. It’s a good opportunity and I’m looking forward to it.”

The Sheffield fighter comes in to face the Derry native after Mexico’s Carlos Araujo pulled out through injury.

Prior to falling ill the Mexican was talking a good game and promised a knock out upset.

Najib didn’t quite go that far but he has warned the awkward southpaw that a tricky night still awaits.

“McCullagh is a good boxer moving up from super-bantamweight. It’ll be a good fight. His style and my style are different – he’s on the back foot and loves to box.

“He’s got a fight on his hands tomorrow night. This is going to be interesting.”

The other three quarter-finals are Leigh Wood vs. Davey Oliver Joyce, Hairon Socarras vs. Ryan Walsh and Jazza Dickens vs. Carlos Ramos.

A packed undercard stars promising heavyweight George Fox, undefeated starlets Sam Gilley and Mitchell Frearson, debutant Randal Barlow plus Jacob Robinson vs. Sean Davis.

Derek McKenna

Co-founder of Junior Sports Media who has been covering boxing since 2013. Has extensive experience in sports writing, sub-editing and online journalism. Email: Co-founder of Junior Sports Media who has been covering boxing since 2013. Has extensive experience in sports writing, sub-editing and online journalism. Email: thejuniorsoccerportal@gmail.com

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