‘Lightening’ Lee Selby: “Nothing Ramirez brings can surprise me.”

Photo by Esther Lin/ Showtime

Welsh wizard Lee Selby intends to cement his standing as the leading light in Britain’s white hot featherweight division by sizzling in the fourth defence of his IBF belt against unbeaten Mexican Eduardo Ramirez at London’s Copper Box Arena on December 9th, live on BT Sport and BoxNation.

In light of GB’s glut of recent world champions, the super slick 30 year old skilster from Barry has largely slipped beneath the radar since a rather underwhelming coronation deep into the Kell Brook-Frankie Gavin undercard at London’s O2 Arena back in May 2015.

The twinkle-toed Taff took his title with an eight round technical decision over Russia’s previously undefeated Evgeny Gradovich but, over the ensuing 31 months, has been restricted to just three defences – albeit against regarded men with combined stats of 116-11-3 – and remains some way down the pecking list of high profile British ring stars.

And that’s a matter that likeable Lee is keen to alter over the coming 18 months or so now that he has renewed his association with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren.

‘I’m really excited to be back on a Frank Warren show and featuring on such a quality huge card,’ states Selby who has won 25 of 26 paid gigs with nine stoppage victims.

‘You’ve got the slick boxers like (IBF Super-Middle king James) DeGale and myself headlining plus exciting big hitters like Anthony Yarde and Daniel Dubois so there should be something for everybody to enjoy.

‘This is my first fight live on BT Sport so I’ll be tapping into a fresh audience, showcasing my talent to fresh faces, broadening my fan base, hopefully.’

Smooth Selby can expect a stiff argument from his 24 year old challenger, who is yet to meet with defeat in a 23 fight paid career that began, aged 17, in September 2010.

‘Ramirez is a young hungry Mexican who comes from a very good stable, the same gym as my former opponent (five time world champion) Fernando Montiel. I believe he’s coached by Montiel’s brother and dad so they’ll know me well,’ claims the Tony Borg coached champion.

‘He’s an undefeated southpaw and highly ranked by the IBF. From clips I’ve seen, Eduardo’s a similar height as myself, if not taller, so I’ll not enjoy the advantages, I usually have. He can force a fight or go back foot. It’s gonna make for a very good fight.

‘As always, I’ll be fully prepared for whatever Ramirez brings. He’s a Mexican and they usually like to force the pace. He knows he’s unlikely to win the title by outboxing me over here.

‘One of my biggest attributes is that I can adapt on the night. Nothing he brings can surprise me. My record shows I can always make the adjustments needed to win. I always prepare 100% and I’m confident that my class will prevail.’

James DeGale MBE (23-1-1, 14 KOs) tops an unmissable evening of boxing in the capital when he makes the fourth defence of his IBF Super-Middleweight World Title against American Caleb Truax (28-3-2, 18 KOs);

Light-Heavyweight ‘Beast’ Anthony Yarde (13-0, 12 KOs) defends his WBO Intercontinental and European belts against Nikola Sjekloca (32-4-1, 11 KOs), Heavyweight sensation Daniel Dubois (5-0, 5 KOs) aims to continue his KO streak when he faces former Anthony Joshua opponent Dorian Darch (12-5-1, 1 KO) in his sixth contest;

Former English Middleweight Champion Joe Mullender (10-2-0 4 KOs) fights for the Vacant IBF European Middleweight Championship while the hugely-popular former English Welterweight Champion Johnny Garton (20-1-1 7 KOs) fights for the Vacant IBF European Welterweight title;

WBO European Lightweight Champion Craig Evans features in an eight round International contest and rising talents Archie Sharp (Welling), Sanjeev Sahota (Hornchurch), Ben Smith (Wycombe), Hamza Sheeraz (Ilford), Umar Sadiq (Ilford) and debutant Harvey Horn (Chigwell) complete an action-packed night of boxing.

Tickets for The Boys Are Back In Town priced at £40 (Upper Tier), £50 (Lower Tier), £70 (Floor), £100 (Floor), £150 (Floor) and VIP/Hospitality £250 are now on sale via See Tickets, Eventim and Ticketmaster: