John Hedges vs. Pat Brown | DAZN - 19 September 2026

[wrighty]

What's the consensus on Pat?

[JamesPhilips]

What's the consensus on Pat?

Exciting and punches hard. Easy to hit though

[wrighty]

Sounds like a fun watch

[wrighty]

I hope chev Clarke gets the winner. His fight with Massey was quality

[Taansend]

What's the consensus on Pat?

Exciting and punches hard. Easy to hit though

Johnny Nelson II

[Coco]

What's the consensus on Pat?

Exciting and punches hard. Easy to hit though

Johnny Nelson II

Johnny Nelson easy to hit and exciting, oh the irony

[Ruthless-RKO]

MASOUD, CONWAY, MIDDLEMISS, RAFFERTY AND CROFT JOIN UNDERCARD FOR HEDGES VS BROWN AT MANCHESTER’S CO-OP LIVE ON SEPTEMBER 19 – LIVE ON DAZN


A huge night of Championship boxing is in store at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday, September 19 – live worldwide on DAZN – as Eddie Hearn today announced an exciting undercard featuring Shabaz Masoud.

John Hedges and Pat Brown headline at the state-of-the-art venue when the two undefeated rivals collide for the British and Commonwealth Cruiserweight Titles.

And the unbeaten ‘Maverick’ Masoud moves up a weight division as he challenges Argentina’s Ckari Mansilla (19-4, 13 KOs) for the vacant IBF Intercontinental and WBA International Titles.

The Stoke star was sensational in his last outing back in December last year when he overcame Peter McGrail for the European Super Bantamweight crown with a classy, unanimous points victory.

Now the 15-0, 4 KOs, fighter – who is trained by Ben Davison – is looking to rise up the rankings and challenge for honours in the 126lbs division.

Another fighter looking to make his mark at a bigger weight division is Northampton’s Kieron Conway.

Conway (23-4-1, 7 KOs) returns to the ring for the first time since last October when he bravely surrendered his British and Commonwealth titles in a stoppage defeat by George Liddard at York Hall.

But he is bidding to campaign for the prestigious Lonsdale belt once more at Super Middleweight when he steps up to challenge former English Super Middleweight ruler Mark Jeffers in a British title eliminator.

The ‘Wigan Warrior’ Joe Howarth (15-2, 4 KOs), in his first fight since February, is back too as he takes on Lancashire’s undefeated Josh Holmes (18-0, 7 KOs).

Manchester’s own Alfie Middlemiss – trained by Jamie Moore – looks to extend his impressive start to life as a professional when the 23-year-old 6-0 charge faces Ireland’s ’Short Fuse’ Featherweight Gerard Hughes (6-1-1).

Another local lad in Lancashire’s Tom Rafferty (187-0, 7 KOs) is out to ensure he maintains his 100 per cent record too when the Middleweight prospect takes on Ireland’s ‘Kingdom Kid’ Liam Walsh (9-1-2, 4 KOs).

And exciting Welsh youngster Garan Croft, who trains out of former World Champion Anthony ‘Million Dollar’ Crolla’s Manchester gym, joins the card as the 6-0, 2 KOs Middleweight hopeful bid to continue his flourishing career with his seventh career victory.

Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn said: “Hedges versus Brown is one of the best domestic showdowns of the year – and now we have an undercard stacked with some of the country’s most promising young talent and seasoned campaigners.

“Shabaz Masoud was excellent in Monte-Carlo last December. He’s had back-to-back statement wins over the likes of Peter McGrail and Liam Davies. Now he’s jumping up, I fully expect him to be a handful at Featherweiight.

“Kieron Conway, also moving up in weight, needs no introduction and his opponent Mark Jeffers will provide a great challenge in what will be a brilliant eliminator for the British Super Middleweight Title.

“And we’ve got some exciting young talent in the form of Alfie Middlemiss, Tom Rafferty and Garan Croft all out to stretch their winning records.

“You’d pay to see the Main Event alone, but this entertaining undercard is guaranteed to provide proper value for money at the Co-op Live on September 19. Be there or tune in, live on the Global Home of Boxing, DAZN.”

Tickets are on sale now. For more information, head to matchroomboxing.com

[THEBUTCH]

"Another local lad in Lancashire’s Tom Rafferty (187-0, 7 KOs) is out to ensure he maintains his 100 per cent record"

Could we have a BBC verify check on that record ?

[Ruthless-RKO]

"Another local lad in Lancashire’s Tom Rafferty (187-0, 7 KOs) is out to ensure he maintains his 100 per cent record"

Could we have a BBC verify check on that record ?

I mean thats an official press release from Matchroom.

Amazing record, but he should be stopping more opponents,

[THEBUTCH]

[Ruthless-RKO]

Pat Brown ready to shown unseen dimension against John Hedges

So far, Pat Brown’s aggressive, heavy-handed style has carried him to six straight knockouts but he thinks he'll need to show the other dimensions to his game when he meets unbeaten John Hedges on September 19.

A fight between Brown (6-0, 6 KOs) and Hedges (12-0, 3 KOs), which will be for the vacant British and Commonwealth titles at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, has been touted for some time and was immediately billed as a classic battle between boxer and puncher.

Brown told The Ring that, so far, he hasn’t had to to show the technical skills and patience that took him to back-to-back National amateur titles and a place at the 2024 Olympics. The popular Mancunian is confident that those expecting another route one performance are in for a surprise.

“People haven't seen my boxing side yet ... so wait and see,” he said.

“This is the aim of the game, isn't it? This is where you show yourself on the big stage. People haven't seen what I was like as an amateur fully, all them fights I had and all the sparring I had, but I'll showcase a different set of skills for this fight, definitely, because I'm going to have to bring it.”

Hedges stands 6-foot-6 and is a smart, sharp boxer. The 24-year-old from Essex was a highly decorated junior amateur himself and has already been a professional for almost six years.

He is also a clever man.

Hedges will know Brown’s first headline appearance at the massive Co-op Live Arena will bring its own pressures. And while earning Brown’s respect as quickly as possible will be crucial, he can also be expected to box, move and wait for frustration and the weight of a loud, expectant crowd to affect the local man.

Although it will be the biggest night of his professional carer, Brown is confident that he will able to remain disciplined and stick to a game plan without getting drawn into fighting for the crowd.

“Yeah, exactly. You've hit the nail on the head, really,” Brown said. “With his style and how it's going to go it could either be really messy or it could be a clean fight, which is what the public want to see.

“I don't ever let [the fans] get to me, really. As long as my mind is on the job, it'll come and I've got an exciting style anyway so they'll always be happy with whatever goes down, really.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

HEDGES AND BROWN COLLIDE IN FACE-OFF AHEAD OF SEPTEMBER 19 BRITISH TITLE SHOWDOWN – WATCH IT LIVE AT 12pm (BST) TODAY

August 14 2026

John Hedges went deep behind enemy lines and entered the ‘lion’s den’ in Manchester as he met rival Pat Brown at his local for a lively Face-Off.

The undefeated Cruiserweights collide on Saturday, September 19 at Co-op Live – live worldwide on DAZN – for the vacant British & Commonwealth Titles.

And Essex boy Hedges warmed up for their huge showdown with an away day to Brown’s home turf in Sale, where he was met by a cauldron of noise generated by a partisan crowd at Early Doors in Sale.

Cheered on by his vocal faithful, Paris 2024 Games Team GB Olympian Brown promised to deliver a night they will remember for a long time and win his first major championship since turning professional over a year ago.

Brown (6-0, 6 KOs) said: “This is why I box [for his fans]. All of these people have followed me since I was a kid when I had my first fight at 11 years of age. I cannot wait for September 19.

“All this A-side, B-side stuff. I don’t care. All I care about is a K and an O. The British title is on the line and here we are. We are going to get it on in front of all these people like Donkey Kong.

“This is true Manchester, and that’s all I care about. I’m a true Manc, born and bread. And this is the sort of fight this city needs.”

But the ‘Gentleman’ Hedges insisted he is coming to Manchester to silence the crowd and take the belts back home to Takeley next month.

Hedges said: “This is nice for me. It might sound mad because I’m coming in here and getting booed. But you’re all good, working class people and I love the buzz. This is what I’m about.

“I have had 12 fights and had 12 wins. I knew this was going to be in Manchester because it makes sense. And I know I will turn up on September 19 at Co-op Live and get the job done.”

Hedges was joined by his manager Adam Morallee, who reminded Team Brown that his man has not lost a fight since he was an amateur at the age of 15.

Morallee said: “John hasn’t lost a fight since the age of 15. He doesn’t know how to lose. You are scared.”

However, Brown’s boxing advisor Sam Jones was unfazed and insisted his man will be roared to victory this September.

Jones said: “Pat wins. And once Pat wins in the fashion we all believe he will do, then we can all go out for a nice dinner afterwards.”

You can watch the Face-Off – hosted by SJA Award winning broadcaster, Jamie Ward – in full at midday (BST) today, live on Matchroom Boxing’s official YouTube channel.

Tickets for September 19 at Co-op Live are on sale now, here.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

In 2 weeks

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight Week!!

[keithmoonhangover]

Really looking forward to this one. Fancy a Brown win, but the words, rangey southpaw put a bit of doubt in my mind.

[forcefraser]

Really looking forward to this one. Fancy a Brown win, but the words, rangey southpaw put a bit of doubt in my mind.

Can he punch though?.Brown looks like he can take a shot. Solid frame, thick set

[keithmoonhangover]

Really looking forward to this one. Fancy a Brown win, but the words, rangey southpaw put a bit of doubt in my mind.

Can he punch though?.Brown looks like he can take a shot. Solid frame, thick set

Not on paper, but I guess we'll find out on Saturday. It's not every day you face a 6' 6" lefty and Pat's never never seen rounds 9-12.

[Kilburn]

Hedges is young, quick and enthusiastic, I’m just not sure he’s got anything in those punches to impress Brown with. Should be a good scrap though.

[gilgamesh]

Hedges is young, quick and enthusiastic, I’m just not sure he’s got anything in those punches to impress Brown with. Should be a good scrap though.

Even if he can just take a good shot with that kinda ranginess, and a Southpaw stance he could be a problem. It's an interesting bout.

[D4v3]

Over 12 I think brown should be able to break him down, might be frustrating early on though

[Ruthless-RKO]

John Hedges reflects on journey to Pat Brown clash: 'I was awful'

At 6-foot-6, 167 pounds at the age of 18, there was much intrigue when "Gentleman" John Hedges made his professional debut in an empty arena in Milton Keynes six years ago.

He won that night, outboxing Jan Ardon (2-4) over four three-minute rounds but Hedges (12-0, 3 KOs) cringes whenever he sees any footage.

“When I look back at those videos of when I first turned pro, I can’t believe it,” he tells The Ring. “I don't even think anyone should have let me in the ring to be honest with you.

“I looked like I was about 12 years old and I was awful. I remember it well and it was absolutely awful, to be fair.

“But it's part of the bigger picture, isn't it? What I learned in the first years after turning pro was just about what it takes to be a pro boxer.”

Given it was October 2020 when he made that professional bow, Hedges was one of the boxers who had to take their first steps exclusively inside Covid bubbles, without fans and without any atmosphere whatsoever.

“I was learning on the job,” he adds. “And I learned a lot about myself and a lot about boxing generally. Ultimately, without those early years as a pro, I might not be here now. I had a bit of backlash early doors but we've got through it and now I look back and I think that's probably mentally prepared me for what's to come.”

After his debut, Hedges boxed three times in both 2021 and 2022 before his activity levels dropped. There was just one outing in the whole of 2023 and a total of eight rounds in 2024.

But things picked up in 2025 as he registered the two most significant victories of his career, beating both Nathan Quarless and Ellis Zorro on points over 10 rounds, as he won and then defended the English cruiserweight title.

It was his position as English champion that paved the way for his next fight, when he will face Matchroom’s undefeated starlet Pat Brown (6-0, 6 KOs) for the vacant British and Commonwealth titles on September 19 at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, live on DAZN.

Despite having had twice as many professional fights as Brown, the 2024 Olympian, Hedges has been priced as a 9/2 underdog. The Essex man has kept a close eye on Brown’s transition from elite amateur to professional contender and has been impressed with what he has seen.

But now he hopes that an upset victory over Brown, who is two years his senior, will earn him similar plaudits.

“It’s quite simple to me,” he says. “When I beat him, I should take his place. That’s pretty much how I see it.

“I’ve been hearing all this talk of him being able to fight Jai Opetaia within 12 months, fighting for world titles and all the rest of it. So the way I see it, this fight is about the winner should take it all.

“I think I'm a big banana skin and I wouldn’t be overlooking me if I was Pat. I don’t believe he has done that and that's why this fight is a cracker.”

Hedges is not currently ranked within the top 15 with any of the four major sanctioning bodies while Brown is up at No. 7 with the IBF after stopping Vasil Ducar in April.

“That was one of those things we found crazy,” Hedges says. "When you actually look at his record it’s thin. He beat Ducar, fair play, but that was his eighth defeat.

“He's been a great opponent for all good contenders but he's never beaten one of them. No disrespect to Ducar but every time he has boxed someone of a level, he's been beat.

“I think he's a decent fighter, but at the same time, how you get a world ranking off that, I do not know.

“All I know is that once I beat him on September 19 I want that ranking. I’ll be in a great position in a division that’s booming.”

[jameswilson]

Might be similar to Carl Froch v Mathew Barney.

[MightyWarrior]

Matchroom are building the perfect fighter for their Saturday night shows. Pat has got the looks, plus the exciting big punching style to be a real crowd pleaser with a huge following.

“White, bright and polite” the promotional tagline they used in the “progressive” 1980s ( And believe me this was less racist than what they would’ve come up with in the 1970s )

But this perfect fighting machine looks too good to be true, and history tells us that as soon as he gets in with someone with slightly more than three knockouts on their record ( which won’t be soon ) he’s going to get absolutely poleaxed in sensational style.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Pat Brown too 'well-schooled' for John Hedges, says trainer Moore

British boxing will step into the future on Saturday when Pat Brown headlines a major arena show for the first time.

The vacant British and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles will be on the line when Brown (6-0, 6 KOs) boxes the undefeated John Hedges (12-0, 3 KOs) at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena, live on DAZN.

It is expected to be the first of many headline appearances for the Mancunian who has been groomed for the moment since he turned professional after the 2024 Olympic Games.

It's also assumed Brown will spend the majority of his career campaigning at world title level, galvanizing an army of fans, and doing it all in swashbuckling style.

That's a lot of weight for a 26-year-old with only six professional fights under his belt. Fortunately he isn’t shouldering it alone.

“There's a lot of pressure on us all,” Brown’s trainer Jamie Moore told The Ring.

“Everyone agrees he's one of the best prospects in the world. When that's the case, then you've got a lot of eyes on you. We've got to make sure we do the job right, which I hope we are doing.”

Brown has a long association with Moore’s gym.

He won a National Amateur Championship while training with Moore’s long-time assistant Nigel Travis at the Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Club. After that, he naturally gravitated to Moore’s professional gym as his career in the unpaid ranks wound down.

Moore likes working with aggressive boxers like Brown and has always been confident he has the ability to succeed. Having spent two years working with him day in, day out, he is also sure he has the mindset to deal with the expectations placed on him.

“I think his personality is going to stand him in better stead than it would do anyone else,” Moore said.

“If you're the type of person who is influenced by people's comments on social media or everyone telling you how great you are and you take that on board and inflate your ego then, at some point, it's going to come and bite you on the arse. I think he's got the perfect balance of understanding how good he is but also not getting carried away with it and keeping his feet on the ground.”

During the build-up to Saturday’s fight, both fighters will be praised for facing each other so early in their careers and there will also be promises and reassurances that the loser can come again.

Rebounding from an early career defeat isn’t part of Brown’s plan whatsoever.

Rather than concentrating on the occasion and attention, Brown has remained solely focused on beating Hedges and winning the British title.

“It's not like he's going in there with Hedges not knowing that it's going to be a difficult fight,” Moore said.

“I’m a big believer in Pat Brown. I'm not really concerned about Hedges, even though I do rate him. I think he's a good fighter. He's a very awkward, big, tall, rangy southpaw. No one likes them. But Pat is so well-schooled, he's never really scratched the surface in terms of showing people his whole range of ability, because he's never had to. I'm sure, against Hedges, he's going to have to show a few more strings to his bow but that's all part and parcel of the process.”