Lee McGregor vs. Narek Abgaryan | DAZN - January 2022

[Ruthless-RKO]

Lee McGregor Signs Co-Promotional Pact With Matchroom, Probellum; Returns December 18

Lee McGregor has two new promoters, along with a fight date and a change in career path.

Matchroom Boxing and Probellum have announced a co-promotional pact with the unbeaten Scottish bantamweight, who also has a new fight date and opponent for his next assignment. McGregor (11-0, 9KOs) will next face Armenia’s Narek Abgaryan (15-1, 6KOs) as part of the already announced December 18 show at AO Arena in Manchester, England.

"I’m delighted to welcome reigning European, British and Commonwealth Bantamweight Champion Lee McGregor to the team," said Eddie Hearn, chairman of Matchroom Sport in a joint statement with Probellum. "Lee has become one of the hottest young talents in world boxing and I’m excited to give him the global platform of DAZN to shine.”

The news comes one day after Probellum already announced a promotional pact with McGregor. The upstart promotional company has been open in its desire to work with all promoters and platforms around the world, with this signing marking the first partnership with Matchroom.

The move provides a firm fight date for McGregor, who will defend his EBU European bantamweight title on a show headlined by a heavyweight rematch between former WBO titlist Joseph Parker (29-2, 21KOs) and veteran trialhorse Derek Chisora (32-11, 23KOs).

“I’m absolutely delighted to be getting back in the ring defending my European Title against Narek Abgaryan,” said McGregor. “This is another step closer to me becoming a World Champion. I have the best team possible and I believe with Matchroom and Probellum backing me, I can win World Titles at multiple weights.”

Interestingly, the development means that McGregor is no longer potentially one win away from a guaranteed shot at the IBF bantamweight title. McGregor was previously due to face former two-time title challenger Jason Moloney (22-2, 18KOs) in a title eliminator, with D4G Promotions having won a purse bid for the right to promote the event.

Those plans were since abandoned, with both fighters moving in a different direction. It works to the benefit of Matchroom, who fills a void after rising light heavyweight contender Joshua Buatsi was forced to withdraw from a previously announced fight with former title challenger Maxim Vlasov due to injury.

McGregor is now guaranteed three fights in 2021, all with the EBU title at stake. The 24-year-old from Edinburgh, Scotland won the belt in a sensational first-round knockout of Karim Guerfi in March 2021. A successful first defense of the title came in August, knocking out unbeaten Vincent Legrand in the fourth round of an ESPN+ aired bout from Falls Park in Belfast.

The win over Legrand marked the second time that McGregor has bumped off an unbeaten opponent. The previous occasion came in November 2019, when McGregor outpointed Matchroom-promoted Ukashir ‘Kash’ Farooq via split decision. Farooq has since won three straight and is eager to avenge his lone career defeat. The latest move by Matchroom now potentially puts that in play.

“We look forward to watching [McGregor] perform in Manchester on December 18,” notes Hearn. “Then the huge all-Scottish rematch with Kash Farooq in early 2022."

[Dioufy]

Who is this opponent. WBU belt should be on the line.

[garethhop]

What is the deal with Probellum/MTK? I've lost track of what's going on here tbh.

Also, thought the McGregor/Farooq rematch was being made?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight Week!

[maverick23]

Fight Week!

Is this still happening? No mention of it on Matchroom’s poster. They seem to have added Babic to the show now.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight Week!

Is this still happening? No mention of it on Matchroom’s poster. They seem to have added Babic to the show now.

Ahh, it's not listed on Boxrec anymore either..

[Ruthless-RKO]

Parker-Chisora undercard: McGregor is out, Cullen to face Sadjo instead of Cukur

We’ve known for quite some time that heavyweights Joseph Parker and Dereck Chisora would be facing each other in a rematch in Manchester on December 18.

The undercard looked pretty solid, with the likes of Carlos Gongora meeting Lerrone Richards at super middleweight and European bantamweight titleholder and rising star Lee McGregor defending his title against Narek Abgaryan. While Jack Cullen was tabbed to face Emre Cukur for the vacant European super middleweight title.

However, news reached The Ring that McGregor will instead now face Abgaryan in late January.

Cukur is out of his fight with Cullen due to a hand injury. Cullen will now meet dangerous Frenchman Kevin Lele Sadjo, in what may be a more difficult assignment.

Cullen enjoyed a breakout win over former Canelo opponent Avni Yildirim (UD 10) over the summer which helped position him for a shot at the vacant EBU title. The 28-year-old sports a (20-2-1, 9 knockout) record.

Sadjo was a French amateur champion before turning professional in 2017. The 31-year-old won his first 14 by knockout but has been taken the distance in his two most recent outings.

It should prove to be an interesting clash of styles between the 6-foot-3 Cullen and the smaller but more robust Sadjo, who is 5-foot-8.

[maverick23]

Promoters annoy me in that they shout about additions to shows (which I fully get) but always seem to want to keep as quiet as possible about withdrawals.

The McGregor fight was announced as the fight to replace the excellent Buatsi co-main event. Now we get Babic vs TBA on 5 days notice.

[peter barlow]

Promoters annoy me in that they shout about additions to shows (which I fully get) but always seem to want to keep as quiet as possible about withdrawals.

The McGregor fight was announced as the fight to replace the excellent Buatsi co-main event. Now we get Babic vs TBA on 5 days notice.

Yep it's worse now than ever, fans are treated like mugs so it's no surprise attendances are down across the board.
Vlasov is fighting in Russia now too. I didn't think that much of McGregor when he stopped Legrand but it was an okay fight.

Theres a serious amount of MTK/Probellum guys pulling out of fights. Definitely stuff happening behind the scenes.

[margaret thatcher]

cullen's new opponent is better than the original

[Ruthless-RKO]

Lee McGregor is now fighting on an MTK card in Feb.

Headlined by Dignum

[maverick23]

Lee McGregor is now fighting on an MTK card in Feb.

Headlined by Dignum

Really weird. So he’s co-promoted by Matchroom/Probellum but fighting on an MTK show. At least he’s getting out.