Boxing promoter Mark Neilson insists records will be broken at inaugural Fight Town event

BOXING promoter Mark Neilson says Fight Town 1 will be bigger and better than anything Swindon has seen before as home town fighter Luke ‘The Duke’ Watkins headlines a 15-bout event on April 27.

Neilson Boxing’s ‘Kings of the Ring’ show, which took place at the MECA in December, featured promising welterweight Ryan Martin as well as Bec Connolly and local heavyweight Phil Williams.

According to Neilson, that evening broke town records that stretch back over 100 years.

April’s show will take place at the Oasis Leisure Centre and will be headlined by Sam ‘Sniper’ Smith and Swindon-born Watkins – both having featured in TV fights in recent months.

Now orchestrating his 28th boxing event, Neilson is confident there will be a sell-out crowd for his fighters to perform in front of and fans will be treated to a stellar card of bouts throughout the night.

Neilson said: “The last show was the biggest one Swindon has ever had – we had 14 fights and it broke records that stretch back to the late 1800s, going back to some fights that took place at the County Ground.

“This one is going to be even bigger because of the appetite for boxing by the Swindon fight fans and because we have a good reputation across the South West.

“So that’s caused us to have a massive card, we’re talking at least 15 fights.

“We know it’s going to be the biggest one ever, but how is it going to be different? It’s going to break more records and it’s going to be even better than the last one.”

Neilson is bringing Watkins back to Swindon for a first fight in his home town since April 2017, while Martin will be looking to continue an excellent 2018 with his fourth consecutive victory.

The experienced promoter believes Martin can improve on his previous performances and has assured potential fight-goers that no one will be given an easy ride by their opponents as each individual boxer will learn nothing about themselves with a first-round knockout.

Neilson said: “None of these fights are going to be bad fights, none of these fighters are going in there just to pad their records out and fight some nobody.

“They’re all in good fights because they want to test themselves, they want to improve and they want to continue their boxing education, so they’ve got to fight good people.

“We saw in the last show, some of them didn’t get the results they were expected to get on paper because these away fighters that we match them with, they come to win.

“If these home guys aren’t on their game – or they’re too complacent – then they could get found out.”