A DIVERSE 18-bout card for Fight Town 1 at the Oasis Leisure Centre later this month has excited promoter Mark Neilson, who revealed ticket sales for the event are progressing nicely.

Only a handful of tables remain, while ringside and standard tickets are quickly being snapped up with three weeks remaining until the April 27 event.

The card is headed by home favourites Luke ‘Duke’ Watkins and Ryan Martin, who will fight Ossie Jervier and Zoltan Szabo respectively at the Oasis Leisure Centre.

Both eight-round bouts will be complimented by a series of hard-fought undercard contests – with other Wiltshire hopes including Bec Connolly, Bradley Townsend, Sam Smith and Carl Mallinson.

Connolly’s fight against Lana Cooper has Neilson particularly excited.

He said: “There are so few female boxers, Bec is one of five in her weight category. Every fight is a hard fight.

“Every fight has to be a hard fight for Bec, because there are so few opponents.

“Bradley Townsend is fighting Lee Gunter – Lee beat Harry Webb last time out.

“If these prospects have got anything about them, they will want to try and beat their opponents. Harry had a bad night at the office when he lost out to Lee, that was a wake-up call for Harry.

“And now Bradley has got him in front of him. That will be an interesting fight, because Bradley will know everything about him.”

Frome’s Ryan Wheeler is another crowd pleaser that will take to the ring as he goes toe-to-toe with a to be confirmed opponent over six rounds.

Neilson also pointed Saitemin Eltuyev as a fighter to keep an eye on, particular as he attempts to build his profile in the coming months.

Victory in his four-round bout will go a long way to boosting his own personal profile.

Neilson added: “These are good competitive bouts. Carl Mallinson, who lives in Chippenham, is an ex kick-boxing champion.

“He’s now giving it a go in the pro game at cruiserweight level are beating everyone at heavyweight in white collar fights.

“Saitemin Eltuyev is another – he needs to build his profile. He’s an outstanding talent, but he’s a quiet and shy lad – nobody knows about him.

“We need to push him on. Jensen Irvine is another, he’s making his debut.

“It should be a great night.”