THURSDAY marks the beginning of the inaugural WBC Grand Prix in Riyadh, as fighters from around the globe compete for the Jose Sulaiman Trophy, over $200,000 in cash, and the position as mandatory challenger for the WBC Silver title in their respective divisions.
With just hours to go until the start of the tournament, we at Boxing News decided to take a look at the four British contenders involved.
Gully Powar – 11-0 (1 KO) – Featherweight (Main pic)
Hailing from Wolverhampton, 22-year-old Gully Powar boasts the strongest record of any participating Briton, unbeaten in his 11 contests to date, nine of which have taken place at The Hangar in his hometown.
Powar is sure to catch the eye with his ring walks alone in Riyadh, always accompanied by the sound of Dhol drums when making his way to the squared circle, but although he has made a lot of noise outside the ring, there has been plenty to shout about within it too.
The 126-pounder has yet to drop a round in his professional career thus far, following his amateur success that saw him win the Midlands National Amateur Championship on five occasions and reach the semi-finals of the 2021 National Amateur Championships.
Powar faces a former opponent of TJ Doheny, California’s Japhethlee Llamido, 12-1 (4 KOs), tomorrow in the round of 32, where he seeks to claim a first career win over an opponent with a winning record.
Nathan Forrest – 9-0 (3 KOs) – Super-Lightweight
A full-time mechanic, Durham-based Nathan Forrest has been progressing steadily since his professional debut in 2022, fighting on nine occasions within 32 months and knocking out Kai Richmond to claim the Northern Area lightweight title last March.
Forrest has since left the lightweight division behind and will campaign at 140 pounds in the tournament, where he will fight under the tutelage of trainer Neil Fannan, who also trains fellow Geordie and former British and European super-bantamweight champion, Thomas Patrick Ward.
At 26 years old, Forrest has begun developing punch power that is better than his record may suggest, knocking out three of his last five opponents and going the distance with fighters who have only been stopped a collective 10 times in 263 outings.
Forrest’s tournament will begin on Friday, with an opponent yet to be announced.
Hamza Azeem – 8-0 (1 KO) – Middleweight
At middleweight, Birmingham’s Hamza ‘King’ Azeem is hopeful of continuing his solid start to life in the professional ranks but will need to do so in unfamiliar territory, having only ventured as far as Wolverhampton in his eight career bouts.
A prison officer by trade, Azeem turned professional after just 11 amateur contests and has been learning on the job against seasoned journeymen to counteract his lack of experience while simultaneously building his pro record.
In October, Azeem registered a first stoppage win when needing just one round to dispatch Martin Shaw, and the 25-year-old southpaw will look to build on that performance at the WBC Grand Prix, fighting in the 160-pound division on Saturday.
Sean Arkwright – 7-0 (0 KOs) – Middleweight
Last but not least is Liverpool’s Sean Arkwright, who will also fight as a middleweight southpaw, despite regularly fighting at super-middleweight during his professional career.
As an amateur, Arkwright won 34 of 45 bouts, twice reaching semi-finals at the national level and claiming the silver medal at the Monkstown Box Cup. The proud Evertonian now seeks to make an impact in the pros, keen for activity.
Trained by Ste Harkin, Arkwright boxed on four occasions during the second half of 2024 after serving a two-year ban, and the part-time railway worker hopes to make up for lost time by making an impact in Saudi in a bid to get back on track, beginning with the middleweight round of 32 on Saturday.
The entirety of the WBC Grand Prix will be available to watch live on DAZN, where the heavyweight tournament begins on Sunday but with no British participants.
