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12/04/2024

Wasserman Boxing promoter Nisse Sauerland believes that Charlie Edwards knows his attempt to relaunch his fight career, starting Friday at York Hall in London, represents his last chance.

Edwards is now self-managed, has appointed Stephen Smith as his new trainer, made a move to bantamweight and, by being promoted by Wasserman, will fight on Channel 5.

For so marketable a fighter – Edwards was being groomed for greatness as far back as before the London 2012 Olympics – to be broadcast on a terrestrial television platform presents him, at age 31, with the kind of opportunity he has sought since his career stalled after losing his flyweight title in 2019. But having previously worked with Matchroom, Queensberry Promotions and more recently splitting with Joe Gallagher, Edwards has to succeed with Wasserman.

“He won a world title, which is pretty good,” Sauerland said. “But now, at this weight class – it’s a very competitive weight class. A lot of big fights out there to make. It’s his last sort of hurrah, his last chance, and I think he sees that. He’s taking it very, very professionally. It’s the perfect fit.

“You’re gonna get close to one and a half, two million people tuning in – probably an average of 400,000 people watching. It’s the best platform for visibility when you’re trying to resurrect a career. We’ve seen that with Josh Kelly, Lyndon Arthur, Harlem Eubank and also young guys.”

Sauerland points out that alternative platforms aren’t always as effective for early-career fighters, who rely heavily on social media. But for Edwards, he says, it’s a good fit.

“He’s a former world champion, so that makes it extra special,” Sauerland said. “He’s obviously a very, very good fighter. He’s a big name that’s been forgotten, almost. This is the perfect way to bring him back.”

For all of Kelly’s talent, Channel 5 has perhaps lacked a fighter with the ability to transcend boxing since the days when it broadcast Tyson Fury and Chris Eubank Jr. Edwards can thrive if he can start to do so with victory over France’s 32-year-old Georges Ory.

“It’s such an exciting platform because you actually get eyeballs on the fighter – and that helps someone like Charlie, who’s been a bit lost the last few years,” Sauerland said. “It gives him the opportunity to get back and put himself forward for bigger fights.

“Channel 5 had Tyson on there, Hughie [Fury], Eubank. It just elevates them and makes them develop quicker. It’s great for that platform, it’s great for Charlie, it’s great for Wasserman to have a former world champion like Charlie.”

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