While it’s his first visit to Grand Cayman, boxing champion Matt Windle has put all sightseeing on the backburner, remaining laser focused for his main event clash on Friday, 8 Dec.
The British boxer will be looking to make history as the first person to defend the Commonwealth light flyweight title against Craig Derbyshire at the Lions Centre, at what many are anticipating to be the biggest fight night ever hosted on Island.
The ‘Clash in Cayman’ put on by GBH Promotions, in association with Fightzone and Fight Academy, will showcase 10 bouts – three amateur and seven professional fights, including the main event.
Windle, known as ‘The Windmill’, told the Compass that he is honoured that the promoters have him headlining the mega event.
“It’s the type of stuff you work towards when you turn pro. When you start boxing, everybody dreams of fighting for a world title and fighting abroad,” Windle said. “So, headlining a card of this magnitude is something that you dream of.”
Windle, who travelled from his hometown Birmingham, England, and arrived on island on Saturday, says he has acclimated well, and training has been good.
“I find it nice. It’s quite breezy – not sure if it is because you are coming off the back of hurricane season or if it’s always like this,” he said, noting that come fight night he’ll have no issues as he’s previously fought in the open air in Sheffield during the summertime.
While he is the main attraction, Windle, who holds a 7-5 record, is still growing in his boxing career and is looking forward to fighting in front of a packed house.
“This could be the biggest crowd we’ve boxed in front of,” he said.
And fight fans in attendance and watching on their screens will be ‘spoiled’ if all goes to plan for Windle who, like many other fighters on the card, is coming for an all-out brawl.
“I like a fight, I don’t like when my opponents run away from me and try to hold me – I like a good tussle,” he said. “I think this has all the ingredients to be my most difficult fight to date.
“I think we are going to be great dancing partners for one another, and I think that we will bring the best out of each other.”
Clash in Cayman co-main event
In the co-main and sole women’s bout on the card, England’s Katie Healy will take on Canada’s Shelly Barnett for the vacant Female Commonwealth Silver Super Bantamweight Championship.
Healy, who is coming off of a WBA World Bantamweight Title fight against Nina Hughes, where she experienced her first loss, said she has learned a lot from that fight and will be looking to put on a master class against her Canadian foe.
“I live by the motto, to ‘train hard and fight easy’ but deep down, no fight is ever easy,” she told the Compass, noting that she has only one goal in mind – to win.
Healy, 25, and sporting a 6-1 record, is part of the rise in women’s boxing, especially following Ireland’s Katie Taylor vs England’s Chantelle Cameron fight last month, which is ranked among the best bouts – male or female – across combat sports for 2023.
“To be the co-main event, just before Matt [Windle] is something that I’m very proud of,” Healy said. “It’s just a fantastic opportunity, and I think over the last couple of years, we’ve seen how much women’s boxing has grown.
“I’ve received comments from people saying they now prefer watching female boxing over male boxing and it’s really nice to hear that.”
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