Benjamin and Ballingall prepare for GBM box off

KAISEE Benjamin and Lucas Ballingall headline the latest GBM Sports offering, which takes place at York Hall this evening. TalkSPORT will broadcast the card live and free.

Birmingham welterweight Benjamin has won two straight since losing to Belfast’s Sean McComb around this time last year. That was two defeats in a row for Benjamin, 28, who had previously pushed Dalton Smith all the way at British title level.

Opponent Ballingall from Portsmouth is the younger brother of Michael McKinson, who took Vergil Ortiz Jr. nine rounds in 2022. McKinson’s unbeaten streak eventually ran out, and his sibling has already suffered a couple of losses. 

Lucas Ballingall will see this as his big chance to push on

English title wins over Boy Jones Jr and Billy Pickles display solid form, but both were down at 140 pounds. Benjamin, meanwhile, has acclimatised his body to welterweight over the past two fights and will be a hard man to deter over 10 rounds.

Supporting Benjamin and Ballingall are a cast of recognisable faces, including Stevi Levy, who challenges current Commonwealth Champion Tysie Gallagher for that belt plus the vacant British super-bantamweight title.

Alireza Ghadiri, aka ‘Razor’ Ali, is 9-0, just like opponent Lennox Lythgoe. The pair clash for a stepping stone belt, hoping for better things at super-bantamweight. 

Undefeated heavyweight contender Tommy Welch looks to extend his unbeaten record.

Other boxers make up the card, including entertaining Tottenham puncher (originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo) Michael King and super-lightweight debutant Romeo Costa of Cardiff.

“At the beginning of the year, we told the boxing world what we were planning, and I’m proud that we’ve delivered everything we set out to do and more,” said GBM promoter Izzy Asif.