Theophane ready to turn up the heat on Cook

Transatlantic boxer Ashley 'Treasure' Theophane defends his British light-welterweight title on July 23rd in the twelve round co-feature against Welsh champion Jason Cook on 'The Big Brawl' event, live from Wembley Arena.

'The Big Brawl' features undefeated Tyson Fury (14-0, 10 KOs) challenging British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora (14-0, 9 KOs) in the 12 round main event. “The Big Brawl,” presented by Hennessy Sports, will be shown live and exclusively in the UK on Channel 5.

Preparing for fights the past six years, Theophane (29-4-1, 7 KOs) has successfully split training camps between his hometown, London, and adopted home, New York City.

“As a kid,” he explained, “I watched (Mike) Tyson and (Marvin) Hagler and wanted to come to America to train and fight. For my 11th fight I came to Gleason’s Gym (in NYC) to see if I was good enough. I held my own and gained confidence sparring Paulie Malignaggi, Chris Smith and Elio Rojas. I’ve keep coming back to New York City and also gained good experience working with (Yuri) Foreman and (Dmitri) Salita. I only sparred with Paulie once, but I watched him go on to big fights against (Ricky) Hatton and (Amir) Khan. I would like to get to fight big names like that.

“I’d love to fight the winner of Khan-Judah. For now, though, I want to make three quick defences of my title belt to keep my belt. Then, maybe, the European title and on to what I’ve always wanted, the world title.”

Theopane, rated No. 14 by the International Boxing Federation, captured the British light-welterweight championship in his last fight, taking a unanimous twelve round decision against Lenny Daws this past February in London. Ashley’s most significant victories to date have been versus Delvin Rodriguez (DEC10) and former world champion DeMarcus 'Chop Chop' Corley (PTS8).

The majority of Theophane’s pro fights have been as a welterweight, despite the 5’ 7” Ashley being a natural light-welterweight. “I’ve always been a light-welterweight but couldn’t get good opportunities at 140 pounds,” Ashley commented. “My biggest fight opportunities came at 147 and I took them. I make 140 pounds fine with a little more preparation and watching what I eat. I still feel good and put on 10-12 pounds hydrating after the weigh in. I feel strong at light welterweight. They (140 pounders) are a bit quicker but the majority are my size, averaging 5’ 8, not six footers.”

5’ 9” Cook (28-3-1, 14 KOs), a former International Boxing Organization and European lightweight champion, has lost only three times in 32 pro fights, the last in 2009 to former WBA champion Gavin Rees by three-round decision in the semi-finals of “Prizefighter” tournament. Theophane has never fought on UK terrestrial TV and welcomes the opportunity to showcase his talents on July 23 to UK fans on Channel 5.

“I want to show British fight fans that I’m a force to be reckoned with in the 140-pound division,” Ashley added. “I’m going into this fight to win and win impressively. They’re going to see a fighter who can box or go toe-to-toe if I have to. I have decent speed and a great jab like Hagler, who was one of my idols. He was a serious guy who broke-down boxers much like Miguel Cotto does now. Hagler has been an inspiration for me. He was number one in the world but couldn’t get a world title shot. He finally did but got a draw and had to go to England to win it. He had to do things the hard way and so do I. He inspired me to work extra hard, take opportunities that come along, and make the most of it.”

“We are ecstatic and proud of Ashley for defending his British title as the co-main event of the Chisora-Fury showdown,” Theophane’s manager Mike Michael (Cestus Management) added. “It is one of the biggest domestic heavyweight fights taking place in the United Kingdom in years. This event represents a tremendous opportunity because Ashley’s fight will be televised across the United Kingdom on the Channel 5 TV network and also available on Pay-Per-View in the United States through Integrated Sports Media.

“Ashley is rapidly evolving into a world-class boxer and he’s ready to step-up to fight the best in the world. I would like to thank Mick Hennessy (Hennessy Sports), Channel 5 and Integrated Sports Media for giving us the opportunity to be part of such a historic boxing event.”