Corito, Toby face off for EBF belt

Local boxing fans are in for a treat tonight as Malta’s Billy Corito takes on England’s Ian Toby for the vacant European Boxing Federation (EBF) intercontinental title at the Sky Club in Paceville.

The fight between Corito and Toby is the highlight of the ‘Big Night of Boxing’ event which is being organised by Maltese promoter Paul Borg and the EBF.

The Corito-Toby fight will be preceded by six other matches. The evening kicks off at 8.30 p.m. with the supporting fight between Brandon Borg and Keith Mills.

The other five bouts, each consisting of four two-minute rounds, will see Maltese boxers Dione Galea, Etienne Spiteri, Clayton Vella, Justin Grech and Tyrone Borg face British opponents brought over to Malta by the EBF.

Corito and Toby will then face off in the main event which will feature six three-minute rounds.

Spencer Brown, the EBF chairman, told a news conference yesterday that he was proud to be part of the event.

“I am delighted to be in Malta to promote this night of boxing,” Spencer said. “The EBF organises over 100 events of this type throughout the year and all are very popular. I’m sure this will be the first of many events which we will be organising in Malta.

“We have seven fights on the card between boxers who are of the same level, so the spectators are in for an exciting night. Obviously, the main focus is on the Corito-Toby fight where the vacant EBF intercont-inental title will be at stake and I’m sure local fans will roar the local fighter to victory.”

Brown said he was surprised by the enthusiasm of local fans, adding that he was ready to send some high-profile names to promote the sport in Malta. Joe Egan, the EBF international spokesman and former sparring partner of heavyweight great Mike Tyson, is in Malta to attend tonight’s event.

“I never thought that this sport was so popular in Malta,” Brown said. “This huge interest has spurred me to take more initiatives and make the sport more popular here.

“The EBF has a lot of high-profile boxers who help to promote the sport and I’m sure that people like Ricky Hatton and Roberto Duran would be willing to come to Malta to boost our sport.”

Borg, who is also Corito’s manager, said his client was not looking beyond tonight’s bout.

“Billy is determined to win and we’re only concentrating on this fight,” Borg said. “If more opp-ortunities come, we will discuss. But one major problem for Billy is that he doesn’t have a sparring partner in Malta. I hope things will improve.”