Abril travels to Mathews’s Merseyside hotbed to make the third defence of his world title and claims that the Liverpool hero has a weak chin and won’t be able to hold his heavy shots.
“Mathews is a tough veteran and he is a smart fighter that pushes the pace….I rate him an 8 out of 10. He has a good jab, and good defence but I don’t think his chin will stand up to my punches,” Said Abril.
“He has fought tough competition and has a lot of ring experience. I believe I’ve fought more world class fighters than him, but he’s going to need every round of experience on March 6th.
“He is the one who has been KO’d 7 times in his career to my 0. He is the one who should be worried about his chin and my punching power,”
“I definitely cannot leave it to the judges so I will be looking for the KO. There is no way Mathews is taking my title. I am coming to Liverpool to knock him out and I’m leaving with MY title.”
The IBF World Super-Flyweight Championship between Zolani Tete v Paul Butler and the WBA World Lightweight Championship between Richar Abril v Derry Mathews headlines Mersey Boys that also features Liam Smith’s Vacant WBO Intercontinental Light-Middleweight title challenge; Kevin Satchell’s defence of the European Flyweight Championship; Jazza Dickens v Josh Wale for the Vacant British Super-Bantamweight Championship; Jack Catterall’s defence of the WBO European Light-Welterweight Championship; plus the return of Tom Stalker in an eight-round contest and Stephen Lewis in a six-round contest.
Tickets, priced at £40, £50, £75, £100 and £150 are on sale on now from the Liverpool Echo Arena Box Office on 0844 8000 400 or www.echoarena.com and Eventim on 0844 249 1000 or www.eventim.co.uk
BoxNation will televise live and exclusive on Sky 437/HD 490, Virgin 546 and Talk Talk 525. Subscribe at www.boxnation.com Or watch online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android.
