The bout between Gradus Kraus and Sean Hemphill has been confirmed, along with other matchups, for the undercard of Troy Williamson vs Callum Simpson 2. The Boxxer event takes place at First Direct Bank Arena in Leeds, England, on August 8. The contest is scheduled for 10 rounds at light heavyweight.
Kraus (11-0, 10 KOs) of the Netherlands comes off a second-round stoppage victory over Theo Brooks in May in Rotterdam. The unbeaten 24-year-old returns to the UK after stopping Boris Crighton in the second round on the undercard of Hennessy vs Bouttell in January in London.
Hemphill (19-3, 11 KOs) of New Orleans, Louisiana, makes his third consecutive ring appearance in the UK and looks to return to winning ways. The 30-year-old lost his previous bout last August by split decision against Ty Mitchell at Misfits Boxing 22 in Manchester.
Also announced for the Williamson vs Simpson 2 undercard is an eight-round super welterweight bout between British-Pakistani Hassan Azim (9-0, 5 KOs) and Ruben Torres (8-0, 4 KOs) of Portugal.
An eight-round middleweight matchup pits Manchester’s Mauro Silva (9-0, 4 KOs) against Birmingham-based Bermudan Tyler Christopher (12-0, 2 KOs).
Other bouts include:
- Billy Pickles (18-1, 1 KO) vs. Max Curtis (10-1, 1 KO), 6 rounds, super lightweight
- Ted Jackson (7-0) vs. TBA, 6 rounds, super welterweight
- Billy Deniz (15-0, 5 KOs) vs. Alex Carter (5-2), 6 rounds, super middleweight
- Brad Casey (5-0, 2 KOs) vs. Ross McGuigan (7-12-1, 1 KO), 4 rounds, cruiserweight
The main event is an all-British super middleweight rematch between Troy Williamson (22-4-1, 16 KOs) and Callum Simpson (18-1, 13 KOs).
- Williamson, who won their first fight last December by 10th-round TKO, puts his British and Commonwealth titles on the line.
The finalized fight card is expected to be announced shortly.