Title Eliminator ordered for Big Tommy McCarthy

It seems that there are massive fights on the horizon for Belfast’s Tommy McCarthy.

The phenomenally-talented cruiserweight has been ordered to face Jon-Lewis Dickinson by the end of May in a British title eliminator.

Late last year it was announced that McCarthy would face MGM’s Stephen Simmons for the BBBoC Celtic title, although the Scot claimed he would not take the fight as he was ‘moving on to other titles.’

With Simmons refusing the bout, the belt has now been declared vacant, but there is no ranked contender to step in the ring with McCarthy. As a result, it now seems that the former amateur star will have to bypass the Celtic belt and move straight into British title contention.

McCarthy’s opponent, should both accept the fight, will be Jon-Lewis Dickinson [16(5)-4(3)] and some may argue that the Durham 29 year old is an even stiffer test than Simmons – who he knocked out in the eight round of their fight last year.

Aside from his win over the ‘Monster’ Simmons, Dickinson has had a busy career. Back in 2010 he won Prizefighter as a five-fight novice. After two shock stoppage defeats he then bounced back to beat the highly-rated Matty Askin (whom McCarthy has spent time sparring with) for the English title. The British title, and three defences, followed this win.

The Englishman then suffered two losses to World title challenger Ovill McKenzie and McCarthy’s previous for – Courtney Fry – before the Simmons victory.

Purse bids for the fight are due by February 10th.

While the clash is not a final eliminator – as there is one already scheduled for February 6th between Craig Kennedy and Tony Conquest – many believe it is as good as one. This is due to the commonly-held belief that current champ Ovill McKenzie will be vacating the title as he goes in search of World title honours and that the winners of Kennedy-Conquest and McCarthy-Dickinson will face off..