Josh Padley handed European title shot on major UK show

Josh Padley will fight for the European super featherweight title at the end of this month.

Matchroom Boxing announced on Monday that Padley will face Jaouad Belmehdi for the vacant belt on January 31.

The fight will be on the undercard of the show headlined by the super welterweight world title contest between Bakhram Murtazaliev and Josh Kelly at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, live on DAZN.

Padley (17-1, 5 KOs) was signed by Matchroom following his gutsy effort as a late replacement when stopped by Shakur Stevenson in nine rounds in February last year. Since then, the Yorkshireman has beaten Marko Cvetanovic (TKO5) and Reece Bellotti (UD) to set up a shot at the European title.

Belmehdi (23-2-3, 11 KOs) is coming off the back of a unanimous decision loss to former world champion Can Xu in Beijing last summer. The Frenchman has primarily fought in his native country and may be better known to British fans for being stopped by Gary Cully in less than a minute at the Wembley Arena back in October 2022.

The contest represents a big chance for Padley to continue his rags-to-riches story by claiming the vacant strap and getting the opportunity on home soil is a big positive for him.

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