By Jared Parry
In a week where Wales are gearing up to see there football team take a massive step towards qualification for the chance to go to a World Cup for the first time since 1958, one proud Welshman is preparing for a big chance of his own.
Barry’s Lee Selby (28-3) returns to the boxing ring for the first time since October 2020 as he travels to Argentina to face the unbeaten Gustavo Daniel Lemos (27-0) this Saturday in an IBF World title final eliminator.
Selby has been at the forefront of Welsh boxing for years. His career began in 2008, where he moved through the levels capturing major domestic belts in the featherweight division.
However, it wasn’t until 2015 when Selby had his crowning night where he captured the IBF featherweight world title against Evgeny Gradovich via technical decision. Selby had some defences of his world title, but his reign came to an end in 2018 after a decision loss to Josh Warrington at Elland Road. Selby knew then he had out grown the weight.
Selby opted to jump up two weight divisions and campaign at lightweight, where in 2019, he took a fight with Omar Douglas. Selby comprehensively beat Douglas and was visibly so much more comfortable at lightweight. Selby continued his rise at lightweight and beat domestic rival Ricky Burns which put him into the position to fight in a final eliminator next.
Selby’s last outing was that final eliminator, but it ended in defeat when he was on the wrong end of a narrow split decision against George Kambosos Jr. Following the fight people questioned what Selby will do next. However, Kambosos went on to defeat undisputed lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez in his next fight, sparking a desire for Selby, as he and many others believed he did enough to beat Kambosos when they fought.
Lemos is an unknown commodity to many fans outside of his home native of Argentina. He has never fought outside of his home country.
In a career spanning more than six years, Lemos has gone undefeated in 27 fights, picking up 17 knockouts along the way. Lemos has stopped his last eight opponents so boasts power going into this fight. In 2020, Lemos knocked out Jakmani Hurtado to win the vacant IBF Latino Lightweight title, which was his key to his high position in the IBF world rankings, leading to him earning a final eliminator.
So, can Lee Selby earn his rematch with Kambosos on the road, or will Gustavo Daniel Lemos prove himself to be the real deal? One thing is for sure, Selby’s quick movement, matched with Lemos’ power has the ingredients to make a very exciting fight. This fight currently has no broadcasts in the UK, so the best way fans can keep track of this fight is through the Sanigar Events twitter page (@SanigarEvents) who will be providing coverage.