Battle of the Midlands

Hennessy Sports19th June, 2008

Wayne Elcock says there is no way he is taking challenger Darren McDermott lightly ahead of their British Middleweight Title showdown at the Civic Hall, Wolverhampton on Friday, 20th June.

'The Battle of the Midlands' is Elcock's first title defence since beating Howard Eastman on points last year and Sky Sports will televise the action live on the Hennessy Sports show in association with GoldenPalace.net and 1st Team Promotions.

Birmingham banger Elcock is aiming to get back to world title contention after losing to IBF champion Arthur Abraham in December.

But 'Mad Dog' is not looking beyond Dudley's undefeated challenger McDermott in what promises to be an electric encounter.

"There's no way I'm looking past Darren, that's why I had to be 100 per cent for this fight and didn't want to fight when I wasn't totally fit after having a chest infection which caused the fight to be postponed from 20th April," said Elcock.

"He's going to be even more fired up for this fight with it being a local derby and the atmosphere from the fans will be absolutely electric. This is a fight between two Midlands boxers for the British Title, the biggest fight in the region for a long, long time.

"I know it's going to be tough but I'm ready for it and can't wait to show I'm the best middleweight in Britain.

"Of course I want to fight for European and world titles, but first things first and I have to prove I'm the best in the Midlands and Britain by beating Darren."