Elcock's British title delight by Tom Podmore May 18th 2007

Only weeks after being told he was the mandatory challenger for the British title, Birmingham's Wayne Elcock gets a date set-in-stone stone for his fight with Howard Eastman, which will be for both the British and Commonwealth middleweight titles. The two will go to battle at the Aston Villa Events Centre, Birmingham on Friday, September 28. And, to make the fight even sweeter, it will be shown live on Sky Sports. For English champion Elcock it's a realisation of a 20-year dream. He said: "Ever since I pulled on a pair of boxing gloves I have wanted to fight for the British title in Birmingham. "When I fought Scott Dann for the Lonsdale belt Plymouth I was beaten and had a bad night. I thought that my chance had gone. But now I am back in the frame. It means that I will be working for Frank Maloney once again after he won the purse offer for the fight.” Ken Purchase's Ringside Promotions and Howard Eastman's promotional backers, Hennessy Sports, also bid for the fight but it was Frank Maloney's FTM Promotions that came through with the highest bid. Wayne has now signed a three-fight deal with London-based Maloney and that means he has left Ringside Promotions, who have promoted his last three fights. Mixed emotions for ‘Mad Dog': "I was hoping that Ken would be able to stage it because he has been good to me. He is doing a tremendous job reviving boxing in Birmingham and I am sure that one day, especially with Richie Woodhall training his fighters, he will produce a world champion from our city. "But Frank was looking after my interests when I won the WBU title against Anthony Farnell up in Manchester so maybe he can do it again. "At the same time Paddy Lynch, who has been my trainer and coach, is also to become my business manager and Brendan Maxwell from my sponsors Amber will be my commercial manager. "It all means that the only thing I have to worry about is Howard Eastman and beating him on September 28. Being British champion means everything to me and to win it and then defend it in Birmingham would be the stuff of dreams. "I will be going back over to Boston (where Elcock enjoyed a successful two weeks last summer) for a couple of weeks for a mental and physical boost and I also plan a two week training camp in Portugal. "I will be leaving nothing to chance. I intend to be in the best possible condition for the most important fight of my life." --------------------- Former promoters Ringside Promotions (Ken and Louis Purchase) would like to wish Wayne all the best in his quest to bring the British middleweight title back to the second city.

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