Sam Gilley will defend his Commonwealth title against Liverpool’s Jack McGann at London’s York Hall on Friday night.

Until last week, Gilley, 17-1 (8 KOs) had been preparing to renew hostilities with Louis Greene but ‘The Medway Mauler’ was forced to withdraw due to injury. Gilley won the Commonwealth title by outlasting Greene over 12 brutal rounds last October but hasn’t boxed since.

The 30-year-old East Londoner recently signed with Queensberry Promotions – who today added light heavyweight Liam Cameron to their ranks following his bout with Ben Whittaker over the weekend – and the two had been due to contest the vacant British title.

Gilley will be relieved to still be fighting but the late notice change of opponent means that he will need to wait a little longer before competing for the prestigious Lonsdale Belt. 

McGann, 10-1-1 (7 KOs), had been due to box Ryan Maycock over six rounds on this weekend’s card but the opportunity to step up to the top of the bill and face Gilley was far too good to turn down.

The fight with Gilley offers him an unexpected opportunity to get his career back on track. The 31-year-old has won one fight since being stopped inside a round by Greene in March. That fight took place on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s knockout of Francis Ngannou in Riyadh.

Unbeaten cruiserweight puncher, Tommy Fetcher, 8-0 (6 KOs), and super featherweight prospect, Royston Barney-Smith, 11-0 (5 KOs), will also see action on the undercard. 

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X