Ryan Garner vs. Michael Magnesi | DAZN - 20 June 2026

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Ryan Garner and Michael Magnesi meet at St. Mary's on June 20

Ryan Garner will fight Michael Magnesi for the WBC interim world super featherweight championship on June 20, it was announced today.

The fight will take place on the pitch at St. Mary’s, home of Southampton FC, and be shown live by DAZN.

For Garner, a native of Southampton, the fight against Magnesi represents a dream come true. He has in fact spoken of his desire to one day fight at St. Mary’s ever since turning pro and now, on June 20, he gets the chance to do just that. Better yet, a win against Magnesi at St. Mary’s will move Garner a step closer to becoming the “full” WBC world super featherweight champion.

Garner, 19-0 (10 KOs), won the WBC international title at York Hall in 2023, when stopping Juan Jesus Antunez inside three rounds. He has since then made four successful defences of the belt, beating the likes of Liam Dillon, Archie Sharp, Salvador Jimenez and Reece Bellotti. He has also added the British, Commonwealth and European titles to his collection.

Meanwhile, Magnesi, 26-2 (13 KOs), has previously held the WBC international title, as well as the IBO title, which he picked up following a fifth-round stoppage of Patrick Kinigamazi. He defended that title twice before travelling to Manchester to take on Anthony Cacace in September 2022, only to lose via split decision.

Since that first pro loss, Magnesi has won the WBC silver title, lost it and won it back again in fights against Nike Theran, Masanori Rikiishin and Khalil El Hadri respectively.

“This has been my dream all along and now it is coming true,” said Garner. “Frank promised me he would make it happen and he has always delivered for me right from the beginning.

“I believe this will be one of the biggest single sporting events ever to take place in the city and I know that I’ve got the Southampton people behind me. It will just be an amazing occasion. But I have got a job to do against a tough opponent so I can make sure we can do this again and again.

“I am thrilled that we are sticking to the WBC title and, when I win this one, the champion will have no place to hide.”

Promoter allegedly added: “I am personally delighted to be putting on this special night for Ryan at St Mary’s. I am extremely fond of Ryan as he has been with us since day one on turning professional at 18 and his talent and potential has always been obvious.

“It has taken a little bit of time to get to this point and through Ryan’s efforts and title successes, I can now deliver on my promise for him to fight at the home of Southampton FC, who have supported him tremendously.

“Winning this fight against Michael Magnesi is Ryan’s gateway to the big time and more major fights and massive occasions.”

Another Southampton local fighting at home on June 20 will be British light heavyweight champion Lewis Edmondson, 11-1 (3 KOs), who will tackle European champion Lyndon Arthur, 25-3 (16 KOs), on the Garner-Magnesi undercard. At stake in that fight will be the European and Commonwealth belts.

[Taansend]

Oh wow, I had no idea.

A very winnable fight for Ryan. The Italian is a tricky opponent.

The fight is at St Mary's Stadium. That place will be rocking if Southampton get promoted.

What a great year for the town. What World Champions have come from there?

The only thing that can make this better is if Joe Pigford gets on the undercard.

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Never heard of Magnesium before

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RYAN GARNER VS. MICHAEL MAGNESI SET FOR WBC INTERIM 130-POUND TITLE

Ryan Garner and Michael Magnesi will square off on June 20 at St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, England, to headline a Queensberry show on DAZN, it was announced Friday.

The WBC interim junior lightweight title will be on the line, despite champion O'Shaquie Foster being an active and healthy titleholder with a defense slated for May 30 against Raymond Ford.

Also on the undercard of Garner-Magnesi is a light heavyweight scrap between Lewis Edmondson (11-1, 3 KOs) and Lyndon Arthur (25-3, 16 KOs).

“I am extremely fond of Ryan as he has been with us since day one on turning professional at 18, and his talent and potential have always been obvious,” Queensberry head Frank-Warren said in a statement.
“It has taken a little bit of time to get to this point, and through Ryan’s efforts and title successes. I can now deliver on my promise to have him fight at the home of Southampton FC, who have supported him tremendously.

“Winning this fight against Michael Magnesi is Ryan’s gateway to the big time and more major fights and massive occasions.”

Garner (19-0, 10 KOs) is coming off a third-round stoppage win over Cristian Bielma in March, while Magnesi (26-2, 13 KOs), a 31-year-old Italian, beat Marcos Gabriel Martinez by decision in February.

“This has been my dream all along, and now it is coming true,” Garner, 28, said in a statement. “Frank promised me he would make it happen and he has always delivered for me right from the beginning.

“I believe this will be one of the biggest single sporting events ever to take place in the city and I know that I’ve got the Southampton people behind me. It will just be an amazing occasion, but I have got a job to do against a tough opponent so I can make sure we can do this again and again.

“I am thrilled that we are sticking to the WBC title and, when I win this one, the champion will have no place to hide.”

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Ryan Garner and the stadium fight that is nine years in the making

Ryan Garner is ready for the pressure and expectation of a home crowd ahead of his dream fight on June 20.

Garner boxes Michael Magnesi for the WBC’s Interim junior lightweight title on June 20 at St Mary’s Stadium, home of Garner’s beloved Southampton Football Club.

Garner, 19-0 (10 KOs), said: “I’m well excited. It’s been a dream of not just mine but [trainer] Wayne [Batten]’s for many years, we’ve manifested it. [Promoter] allegedly has delivered and now I’ve got to deliver on my end. To have all my friends and family supporting me here, this is the pinnacle of the sport, come June 20 I’m going to become world champion in front of my friends and family. It’s a bit of a pinch me moment knowing all this will be here for me.”

Michael Magnesi, who is 26-2 (13 KOs), is nicknamed the “Lone Wolf” and he is an experienced campaigner having come up short against Anthony Cacace and Masanori Rikiishi. He’s won his last three fights.

“It’s a dream come true to be here. I know it will be a tough fight with some fire and we will do our best. I’ve got respect for Michael, Michael’s got respect for me. That’s boxing at the end of the day.”

Wayne Batten, Garner’s trainer, said that nine years ago, allegedly promised him that this night would happen, and he feels that the pressure Magnesi brings in the ring will serve to bring out the best in Garner.

“Hopefully this is the first of many,” said Garner of a possible return to St Mary’s as the champion.

The co-main is a light heavyweight battle between Lewis Edmondson and Lyndon Arthur. Manchester’s Arthur, a 25-3 (16 KOs) veteran, said: “It’s a good fight. I’ve just come off a win over Brad Rea and I’m looking for big fights. Lewis is alright. There will be no animosity. We are friends in boxing and we will probably make a good fight. It’s another stadium fight. It’s not Tottenham but Southampton will do. I’m not here to make up numbers. Let’s get it on."

Edmondson, who like Garner will have home support behind him, added: “We took it straight away. We don’t want no easy touches. We’re here. I’ve had back-to-back good fights and it’s put us in good stead for this moment and we’re ready. This is the fight that was offered and we took it. This is what we’re in boxing for, the big nights and the big fights and we’re not here to mess around.”

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Ryan Garner raring to go for career-best challenge in Michael Magnesi

Ryan Garner looks to tick off his first wish by headlining St. Mary's Stadium this summer, before parlaying that into a stateside visit to challenge the O'Shaquie Foster-Raymond Ford winner for the full WBC 130-pound title later this year.

First though, the 28-year-old will have to knock off a determined familiar face in Michael Magnesi on June 20 before earning the right to test his skills against the division's premier fighters abroad.

The Ring's No. 10-rated junior lightweight contender deemed it a 'dream come true' to accomplish a long held wish, headlining the soccer stadium he grew up watching his beloved Southampton play at, while making an effort to travel watching them home-and-away when not in dedicated training camps preparing for prospective fight dates.

"I was born and raised here. To have my friends, family and supporters here, it's the pinnacle of the sport fighting for an interim world title. I'll hopefully do them proud," he said at Wednesday's inaugural press conference before their DAZN main event, as you get the sense he'll put Southampton on his back wanting to represent the city and continue achieving more milestones as a 'normal mush' from down the road that fans can root for as their own.

Garner (19-0, 10 KOs) knows the Italian well and vice versa, having spent time training together when the 31-year-old headed to help Michael Conlan train while in the same gym nine years ago. They didn't spar then, though the home favorite is a much different man than the teenager he would've been at that stage of his budding career.

Garner's coach, Wayne Batten, stressed as much after Team Magnesi suggested they had covered all their bases with preparation for what's to come their way in two months' time. Garner's former foe Reece Bellotti, who boxed impending world title challenger Raymond Ford five years ago, was also complimentary of the 28-year-old's skills.

"I don't believe anyone has seen the best of Ryan Garner yet, I've seen it in the gym and when it comes out, people will be shocked to see how good he actually is. I'm very confident in his ability, it'll be a good fight as Michael brings pressure but that brings his best," he responded to Magnesi's trainer Gesumino Aglioti praising Garner as a 'good boxer and a great guy' but telling him plainly that he didn't believe now was his time to be world champion.

"We are ready and have already studied Ryan. This is Michael's moment, we have a dream, we can win this fight, we have to and are strongly determinated to win," Aglioti said before Magnesi jokingly suggested the two coaches should box one another and have their fighter coach them in a role reversal on the undercard.

The stadium show already has its co-main event sorted, as Southampton's Lewis Edmondson (11-1, 3 KOs) returns from injury to face Lyndon Arthur (25-3, 16 KOs) in another domestic light heavyweight matchup.

Arthur outpointed European champion Brad Rea in November before vacating the belt, while Edmondson has recovered from the hip injury seeing his grudge match against Ezra Taylor nixed at the eleventh hour in October.

The Mancunian joked that while another stadium fight, it doesn't compare to his Tottenham experience where he closed the Anthony Yarde chapter of his career, though at 34 even bigger chances lie ahead if he's able to deliver an impressive victory over Queensberry-backed Edmondson after his narrow Daniel Lapin defeat last summer.

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Brad Pauls vs Bradley Goldsmith on the undercard

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Couple weeks time

[SeanBrennan]

Good to see Arthur on the card too, one of the best jabs in boxing. He’s hilarious on TikTok too

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Tickets from £35

https://tickets.southamptonfc.com/selec ... cking=true

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Fight Week!!

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Taylor Bevan never expected stadium bout at home after eight fights

Middleweight prospect Taylor Bevan never thought he’d get to fight in his hometown stadium within his first 10 pro fights.

Bevan, promoted by Matchroom, boxes on the Queensberry Promotions bill at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on Saturday, when he faces Manchester-based Pole Ryszard Lewicki.

Bevan is 8-0 (8 KOs) and has caught the eye early on in his career. He is managed by popular Irishman Brian Peters, too.

“It’s very exciting to be boxing at home,” Bevan told Boxing Scene. “I haven’t boxed in Southampton for years and it’s a good opportunity for friends and family to come and watch me box because, even in the amateurs, I was flying all over the world to box and people would have to watch me on the live streams and things. But yeah, I can’t wait to be back home. I think it’s going to be a bit of a weird experience, but I’m very excited about it.”

Southampton has not been a hotbed for professional boxing cards for years and it is the first boxing event outdoors in the stadium that is home to Southampton FC.

Top of the bill is local lad Ryan Garner, who meets Michael Magnesi for the vacant WBC interim super-featherweight title, and that has fast-tracked Bevan into a stadium fight he had not expected so soon in his career given it had been a long-term goal.

“No, definitely not. Not in the first couple of years as a pro,” he smiled. “It’s something you dream of down the line in future. But I’m so happy for the opportunity and grateful for the opportunity from Queensberry and for Matchroom for making it happen. I think boxing in Southampton is getting bigger and bigger. There’s a lot of top lads coming through like Ryan Garner, Louis Edmondson, Royston Barney-Smith, and numerous others. So boxing in Southampton is getting bigger and bigger. There haven’t been big shows there in recent years. Chris Billam-Smith’s done an amazing job bringing boxing down South with these shows that he’s had in Bournemouth. But boxing in Southampton has been very little, to be honest. I think if this show sells well, it’ll be the start of some big nights of boxing in Southampton. Hopefully Matchroom might even be able to have me headline a smaller show towards the end of the year or next year if things go well with my tickets. That’s something I’d hope would be on the cards as well.”

There are no feasible smaller indoor venues in the city, but Bevan mentioned the possibility of boxing at the ground of nearby Eastleigh Football Club, or at the Utilita Bowl, the cricket ground of Hampshire CC. It is there when his amateur boxing club, Poseidon, is situated, which adds to the appeal of a fight there.

After just eight fights, Bevan has made personnel changes to his team. He’s left Welsh stalwart Colin Jones and has moved to the Manchester Gym of Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis, which boasts Chantelle Cameron, Pat Brown, Dave Allen, and Aqib Fiaz.

“A lot of reasons really,” Bevan said, asked about the change. “But Jamie and Nigel are such experienced pro coaches that they have so much to learn off of them. Also, the gym environment, there’s so many top lads in the gym to learn off of and it’s a great gym environment. I don’t think there’s many gyms around the country that have an atmosphere like Jamie and Nigel’s just because there’s so many great, a proper mix of characters in the gym, but so many great characters.”

Bevan comes across as confident in his ability but comparatively shy. That is something he thinks might change being around the likes of Allen and Brown.

“A hundred percent. That’s something I’m sort of trying to lean into is hanging around with Dave Allen more because he’s sort of opposite end of the thing to me,” Bevan explained. “He’s very much out there and it’s opposite end of the chart for me. I’m used to training on my own and having quite a reclusive lifestyle really.

“But now I’m in a gym with amazing, loud characters like that, it’s definitely going to bring me out of myself and also improve my boxing because they’re further down the line than what I am. So I’ve got loads to learn off of them.”

He also believes the fighters in the gym now are closer than he was with many of his old amateur team-mates on the Great Britain squad.

“I think it feels more of a team setting the environment I’m in now because in the amateurs you’re part of a massive team but also you’re training alongside people who are the same weight as you,” he said. “You might have two or three others that are your competitors.

“So you have your cliques with certain people and you’re very close with certain people on the team but as a whole you’re always watching what someone else is doing and thinking I need to one-up them with certain things. In a pro gym you’re not really trying to one-up someone. You’re competitive with them and you want to push each other on in training but you want the best for them. You’re not trying to outdo them in terms of getting selected for a team or something like that. You’re not thinking, ‘Am I the coach’s favourite’ because you don’t really care. You want them to do as well as you do. They're not a competitor of yours. I much prefer the environment I’m in now.”

Bevan is also keeping a close watch on some of his old amateur rivals and their journey in the pros, including Aaron Bowen and Sam Hickey.

“I think everyone’s on their own path. I just take it one fight at a time at the moment,” he said.

“It’s good to compare yourself with people that you’ve been amateur with just to see how you’re doing. But I also want the best for them because I’d say they’re mates of mine as well. But the paths might end up crossing down the line – but I do just take it one fight at a time.”

[unknownman79]

Stadium fight bit premature. Some of his own family have probably never heard of him.

[tony1234]

Stadium fight bit premature. Some of his own family have probably never heard of him.

Plus football on TV, not sure how many the stadium will be set up for

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Magnesi confident he'll get fair judging in Garner's hometown

Michael Magnesi is confident he will get a fair shake with the judges against home favorite Ryan Garner in the unbeaten Brit’s hometown of Southampton, England.

The Italian “Lone Wolf” will travel to England’s south coast to take on Garner on Saturday night at St. Mary’s Stadium, the home of Southampton FC. It is an occasion years in the making for Garner (19-0, 10 KOs), a Saints fan and The Ring’s No. 8-rated 130-pounder, who was handed this chance to fight at the stadium by his longtime promoter Frank~Warren.

Despite the UK’s reputation for home fighter bias, the Italian visitor believes the WBC, which has sanctioned the fight for its interim super featherweight title, will prevent any controversy in a main event DAZN will stream globally (7 p.m. BST; 2 p.m. ET).

“The WBC is very precise and careful about these things,” Magnesi told The Ring. “They have a professionalism that goes beyond anything else.

“They will be very careful to make sure the referee and judges do an impeccable job, as I know they will do, and that there will be no preferences. They will do a fair and correct job – I am 100 percent sure.”

Magnesi (26-2, 13 KOs) has previous experience with UK judging. He suffered the first defeat of his career in Manchester in September 2022.

He was on the wrong end of a split decision against Anthony Cacace that night at Manchester Arena. However, it was the 116-112 card in his favor, from Polish judge Pawel Kardyni, which raised the most eyebrows, given that Cacace had looked like a clear winner.

Nearly four years on, Magnesi says he has learned his lessons from what is the only points loss of his career.

“The memories are both good and bad,” Magnesi said. “I learned that you need to have a thousand eyes and a thousand senses. The match went the way it did and it was not what I wanted but it was an experience. I took a lot of things with me to make sure it doesn't happen again.”

Following his defeat in Manchester, Magnesi got back to his winning ways with two consecutive victories during 2023. But he was then stopped in the final round of his clash with Japan’s Masanori Rikiishi in March 2024.

The 31-year-old contender rebuilt once again, however, racking up three straight victories since then. That was enough to lift him into the WBC’s No. 1 spot. Garner, 28, is ranked No. 2.

On that defeat in Manchester, Magnesi added: “Now I know that have got out of it well because I am able to fight for a much more important title. I’m happy with my path and I’m ready for Saturday.

“I’m ready to take home this title and I’ll show who’s the wolf in that ring. I’m very happy with my path and I’m more than ready to show the young kid who is the real lone wolf.”

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Ryan Garner’s coach ready for rocky story to have a dream finale

Nine years ago, trainer and manager Wayne Batten sat down with promoter allegedly to map out the future of his starlet, Ryan Garner.

The talks culminated with the shared dream of headlining a fight at St Mary’s Stadium, home of Garner’s cherished soccer side Southampton FC.

On Saturday, that is where Garner tops the bill, for the WBC’s interim super featherweight title, against Italian veteran Michael Magnesi.

“There’s been many a time when I said I thought it was never going to happen,” Batten told Boxing Scene.

“It’s not meant to be. But my first memory was back about 10 years ago, when Ryan turned 18. We had TransWorld Sport [the TV show] down, and they’d done a piece on Ryan. And Frank Hopkins [Garner’s late former cutman] was here with us. He’s been part of the team from day one. He’s sadly not here no more. I’m sure he’s looking down on us and being immensely proud. So that’s when it first started. We was over there at the away end [of the stadium], and I said to Frank [Hopkins], ‘We’ll be here one day with Ryan fighting for a world title.’ The sun was shining like it is today. So that’s when it first started. And a year later, I spoke to allegedly about it.”

Garner is now 19-0 (10 KOs) and the 28-year-old has built quite a following, and Batten remembers the meeting with the promoter well.

“Frank shook my hand and said, ‘I promise I’ll make it happen.’ And here we are.”

While there have been times when Batten felt the journey might be jeopardised, after Garner defeated Salvador Jimenez in Bournemouth last year, the coach believed that the dream was on.

That earned Garner the European title, and he then beat Reece Bellotti.

“I think after that fight, I realised that we are that close now. Obviously, we sold out Bournemouth down there, 3,500. And Frank has been asking me for years what sort of venues we’ve got in Southampton,” Batten explained.

“But unfortunately, we’ve got no arenas or anything like that. The biggest we’ve got here is the Southampton Guildhall, which is obviously nowhere near big enough. I’ve even done shows there myself and promoted shows there myself back in the day. And Ryan actually boxed on one of them. And I joked with him at the time but the ultimate goal and the dream has always been there [the stadium]. And the football club have been absolutely fantastic in supporting Queensberry and making it happen.”

Batten joked that he had PTSD from the times when he felt it might not happen.

“A couple of weigh-ins when Ryan’s going through a difficult time,” he began. “There were the dark times and the times where I thought it was never going to happen. When you talk about life choices and stuff, when he was tempted or had temptation to go down other avenues. Yeah, definitely.”

But they are here now and on the cusp of a shared destiny. Batten’s Boxing Gym is only a few hundred metres from the stadium.

“I think in the last few years, obviously, he’s got a couple of kids and got a fiancée now,” Batten added. “I think he’s realised what he wants out of life. And I think mentally, that’s really put him in a good place.”

Batten won’t go into many details about what Garner’s life choices were, but he does know his persistence played a part in what has subsequently happened – chasing him up, checking on him, taking him to the gym.

“You’ve got to get to the gym,” or just saying, “don’t waste your talent. You've got something here,” Batten recalls.

“Obviously I don’t want to go into too much, but I just tried to drag him out of a few places, put it that way, and just kept believing in him and just trying to reassure him, don’t waste your talent because he’ll get to the age where he will regret it.”

There is no way of knowing, of course, how Garner will react to walking out to face Magnesi on Saturday, when the fans chant his name and his boyhood dream is fulfilled. How does Batten know his man won’t shrink with the pressure?

“I was around Ronnie Davis,” Batten said, talking about Chris Eubank Snr’s former coach. “Obviously, he was my mentor when I come into professional boxing. And he said one thing to me about Chris Eubank Snr. He said he thrived on pressure. And I do believe that Ryan’s in the same mould. And I have to play my part and have a good chat with him, but I think he’ll thrive on that pressure.”

Batten is an avid reader. He’s recently finished the biographies of Carl Frampton and Carl Froch, and he knows his man – who he’s been beside through thick and thin – has a story to tell.

“Ryan’s autobiography would be a bestseller, trust me,” he smiled.

On Saturday, however, the pair will write the most important chapter yet.

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Taylor Bevan laying groundwork for tough tasks ahead

On the face of it, Taylor Bevan’s career couldn’t have gotten off to a better start.

The 25-year-old super middleweight has had eight fights against progressively tougher opposition and won them all inside the distance.

He has also shown the type of power and finishing ability that will be crucial if he is to hurt and discourage opponents as he moves through the levels.

Rather than using his first 18 months as a professional as a template for the rest of his career, however, Bevan decided that it was the perfect platform to build from.

Earlier this year, he decided to leave his trainer, former British and European welterweight champion Colin Jones and made the move to Manchester, where he now trains under Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis.

He's set to face Ryszard Lewicki (12-3-3, 5 KOs) in his first scheduled 10-rounder on the Ryan Garner-Michael Magnesi card Saturday in Southampton, England – Bevan's birthplace – on DAZN.

“I feel like if you wait until you have a bad performance or a loss, then it's sort of an excuse, isn't it? It doesn't look good then, but I’ve felt like I needed a bit of a change for a while, and now was the perfect time to make it,” Bevan (8-0, 8 KO’s) told The Ring.

“As the levels start going up I think having Jamie and Nigel in my corner is just going to fill me with confidence, and the only way is up really.” Bevan won a silver medal for Wales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. His exciting amateur exploits twice earned him Fight of the Year honors, and he has attacked his professional career with a similarly aggressive approach.

He hasn’t allowed himself to get carried away by his early success and understands that things will get progressively tougher from here on in.

Exciting prospects like Pat Brown and Conor Tudsbury call Moore’s gym home, but Bevan also gets to see how toughened, experienced campaigners like Conah Walker, Chantelle Cameron and Dave Allen go about their day-to-day work. And he is already learning to add more guile and patience to his game.

“I think it's just navigating those pro rounds. I'm moving up to 10-round fights now, so I need to start setting things up for later in the fight and navigating the rounds a bit better, because you can't go out and give 100% every round,” he said. “You've got to learn, and there's experience to be gained in those longer rounds. It's more than just winning every exchange. It's setting traps and seeing the bigger picture of a fight rather than trying to win every exchange, which is what you have to do in the amateurs, because it's such short, sharp rounds. You can't afford to lose 10-20 seconds. You’ve got to win it all. “I feel like I've come on loads already, and it's only the start. I think we'll see an improved version of Taylor Bevan in my next fight and, as time goes on, I think I'm really going to settle into it.” Bevan and Moore have a high profile first assignment to get their teeth into. Lewicki won’t meekly accept an underdog role and “give it a go” for a few rounds before accepting his fate. The former Polish international has a good jab, an experienced trainer in Pat Barrett, and he is extremely confident in his own ability. It promises to be a solid test of the new partnership. “He’s a nice neat and tidy boxer. He seems a tough lad. He'll be up for it, coming forward aggressively so it should bring the best out of me I think,” Bevan said. “The last lad I boxed (Martin Bulacio, who Bevan stopped in the 2nd round) went the distance with the Cuban Arlan Lopez, and I was thinking, 'This guy could be pretty tough here,' but it didn't end up that way. “It'll be a good test to see where I'm at with Ryszard, and we'll move on from there.”

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‘Lone Wolf’ Michael Magnesi prepares to shock Ryan Garner and silence a stadium

Italy’s ‘Lone Wolf’ Michael Magnesi said Ryan Garner had been in his sights even before they were paired to fight Saturday at St Mary’s Stadium.

The 31-year-old, who fights out of Lazio, is 26-2 (13 KOs), with his two losses coming in good company, against Japan’s Masanori Rikishi and Ireland’s world champion Anthony Cacace.

On Saturday, he meets the 19-0 (10 KOs) Garner, the undefeated 28-year-old who will be fulfilling his dream of boxing on the pitch of his beloved Southampton FC.

“Ryan is a very good fighter,” Magnesi told Boxing Scene, via a translator. “We’ve been working on strategy with the team and we want to win the fight with an intelligent attitude.”

Looking out on the pitch at the stadium, Magnesi described Saturday’s setting as “wonderful” and said he had learned lessons from his two career reverses.

“Anthony Cacace was not a very technical fighter, he tried to clinch every time, he maintained a long-medium distance so I’ve learned how to better handle that situation,” he said. “I have learnt a lot from the two defeats. I want to get better at fighting at distance.”

It is unlikely that he will have to go looking for ‘The Piranha’, an aggressive volume puncher who will be looking to please his supporters.

“I know he’s strong but I think he will receive the first defeat of his career,” said Magnesi. “We are two similar boxers, so we are working like in the face of the mirror, reflecting what our opponent will do and so I stand in the mirror thinking what an opponent would do against me.”

There could be more than 10,000 there on the night, and Magnesi is prepared for a hostile reaction. He plans on winning over the fans.

“The guys against me give me more energy, so I’m ready,” he insisted. “Having the public behind you can be positive or negative at the same time, it depends on your reactions. On the night, it could be good, it could be bad.”

He also refuses to accept that the oddsmakers make Garner a narrow favorite.

“I think he’s more of an underdog than me,” Magnesi said.

There is no doubt, however, that Magnesi will see himself as living up to his moniker on fight night.

“Because most of the time I am in camp on my own doing my preparation,” he said of being known as ‘The Lone Wolf’. “I’m a very lonely person so I’m very much a ‘Lone Wolf.’”

[MasterG]

Free tickets available

[WestEndRiot]

I like Garner, but I can't remember a more underwhelming "world title" fight involving a Brit.

Nor one that's had so little mainstream interest

[Ruthless-RKO]

I like Garner, but I can't remember a more underwhelming "world title" fight involving a Brit.

Nor one that's had so little mainstream interest

Firstly it’s only interim. Barely a world title. But they probably did that on purpose so they could class it as ‘world title’..

It’s also hard to promote a boxer where there is little interest.

I actually forgot it was got a ‘world’ title. Had to check the poster.

[MasterG]

I like Garner, but I can't remember a more underwhelming "world title" fight involving a Brit.

Nor one that's had so little mainstream interest

Firstly it’s only interim. Barely a world title. But they probably did that on purpose so they could class it as ‘world title’..

It’s also hard to promote a boxer where there is little interest.

I actually forgot it was got a ‘world’ title. Had to check the poster.

Fancy any free tickets RKO

Long way to travel to Southampton though, I would have gone but same night as Dave Allen fight

[Ruthless-RKO]

I like Garner, but I can't remember a more underwhelming "world title" fight involving a Brit.

Nor one that's had so little mainstream interest

Firstly it’s only interim. Barely a world title. But they probably did that on purpose so they could class it as ‘world title’..

It’s also hard to promote a boxer where there is little interest.

I actually forgot it was got a ‘world’ title. Had to check the poster.

Fancy any free tickets RKO

Long way to travel to Southampton though, I would have gone but same night as Dave Allen fight

Is a long way south. Thanks for offering.

Getting some work done on my house. Roof and pointing.. Builders have taken the piss, so they're gonna come on weekend too.