A KENDAL Boxer who has recently turned professional will face his first opponent in February at the Bolton Arena.

Taylor Finch, 19, has been officially signed by MTK Global following a successful two-year amateur career.

He is now contracted with MTK Global, the same promotion company as Tyson Fury, and he will be managed by Johnney Roye.

Taylor’s first professional fight will take place on February 18 at the Bolton Arena.

Nicknamed ‘The Troublesome’, Taylor is following in the footsteps of his father Alvin who competed in over 100 professional bouts over his career.

Alvin spoke of how proud he was of his son and his success.

He said: “He’s a great fighter. A tougher one than I was.

“We have got an opponent for him but Taylor doesn’t want to know who it is yet.

“He’s a very humble kid and I’m so proud of him for all he has done. We’re so happy he’s been signed by MTK.

“Taylor has been training hard and has been sparring with champions.

“At the moment he’s been training with John Dugdale, who is a three-time national champion and Paddy Hewitt who is the two-time national champion and current senior welter weight champion.

“The kid has been boxing for two years now and he turned pro last January when we went into lockdown. Amateurs couldn’t train at the time but pros could as it’s their living.

“He trained from scratch and now he’s going for his first fight.

“We’ve got some great local sponsors like Frydays Chippy, 11 Degrees Clothing, Ormrod Signs and Heron’s Travel who are offering transport for people to come and watch.

“We’re always looking for more local sponsors because we want the whole of Kendal to join him on this journey.

“His fighting style is orthodox and he’s a good body puncher.

“Taylor has potential to go a long way and we’re really excited for the future for him.

“He had six bouts in his amateur career and won five of them. He started training with Gary Tomlinson and Greg Meschino in Windermere and he started on his own cuff.

“I didn’t even know he was training at first and when I saw him in the gym, I couldn’t have been prouder.

“We want Kendalians to come along with him, it’s a great night out for everyone, 12 fights on the card and we want the community to be with him.

“Anyone who wants tickets or can help with sponsorship they are welcome to reach out to me.”

For information on tickets and sponsorship contact Alvin on 07392 345917.