The fight will be for the vacant Commonwealth 154-pound title.
JJ Metcalf (also known as James Metcalf but his Twitter account says JJ and Frank Warren is calling him JJ, so we’ll call him JJ, the man wants to be JJ, he’s JJ) will be facing former British middleweight champ Jason Welborn on the Warrington-Galahad card, with the vacant Commonwealth junior middleweight title on the line.
Metcalf (19-0, 11 KO) is 30 years old, nicknamed “Kid Shamrock,” a Liverpool native who really hasn’t fought anyone to date, his best win coming in 2017 over Damon Jones, a former British title challenger at 160. Or maybe it was over Aito Nieto in June 2018. Probably splitting hairs on that one.
“I’ve not reached my peak yet, but these are the sort of tests I need at this stage of my career,” Metcalf says. “I have been a prospect for too long, but now is the time to start winning big titles and getting to world level.”
Welborn (24-7, 7 KO) is an experienced 32-year-old veteran coming off of a very game challenge against IBF/WBA titleholder Jarrett Hurd in December. Welborn really had no business fighting Hurd for those belts, but he gave it his best shot until Hurd decided enough was enough and punished him to the body, knocking Welborn out in the fourth round.
Welborn is a former British middleweight champion, beating Tommy Langford in May of 2018 and defending successfully in a rematch in September. He unsuccessfully challenged Frankie Gavin for the British 147-pound title in 2013 and Liam Smith for the British 154-pound title in 2014, and also lost to Matthew Macklin in 2015, though he was competitive.
“I felt I belonged at world level when I boxed Hurd and that is where I want to get back to in the next 12 months,” Welborn says. “JJ is a good prospect, a strong fighter and the kind of style I like to face so I won’t have to go looking for him.”
