Mutley lands European title fight

Young Mutley is to take on European EBU light-welterweight champion Ted Bami for the title on July 20 in the Sky-televised show at the city's Civic Hall.

The 31-year-old will be aiming for title status after he was beaten by Kirkcaldy's Kevin Anderson for the Commonwealth belt last June.

It should be an evenly-matched showdown, with both boxers boasting virtually identical records.

Each has 22 wins from 24 fights, with Mutley's 12 KOs slightly better than Bami's 11, and there is an Italian flavour to their recent bouts.

Mutley's last outing was a six-round points victory in Milan over Polish puncher Arek Malek in January.

Zaire-born, Brixton-based Bami, 29, won his European title with victory over Varese-based Giuseppe Lauri last September at the York Hall, and defended it successfully in a re-match in March in Crawley. Both fights went the 12-round distance.

The bout will be Mutley's first title shot since he was pipped to the Commonwealth belt by Anderson.

That went down as an epic and was voted "Fight of the Year" by the British Boxing Board of Control.

Mutley dropped Anderson early on but was put down himself in the 10th round and lost. Just as juicy a contest is tipped this time.

"It's going to be explosive – this fight is going to be every bit as good as the Anderson one," said Sedgley-based co-promoter Paul 'PJ' Rowson.

"Both boxers have similar records and there's very little between them – it's a cracker and it's a dream come true to get this fight in the Black Country."

The show should have a capacity of around 1,600 but Rowson expects brisk business. "I think tickets will sell out within seven to 10 days – we could sell the venue three times over," he said.

Mutley, also known as Lee Woodley, said: "I can't wait to get into the ring again. Bami is a tough customer, but I've got what it takes to beat him."

Birmingham's Matthew Macklin is also set to be on the undercard, with details expected to be confirmed later today.