Lee Selby to fight on Haye-Bellew card

It’s been a disappointing 2017 so far for Lee Selby. Not only the IBF featherweight titleholder lost out on a fight when Jonathan Barros was pulled from their scheduled January meeting, but he saw the chances of a big unification fight with Carl Frampton go up in smoke the very next night.

Now, Selby (23-1, 8 KO) will return in something of a more low-key outing, a non-title bout on March 4 against Andoni Gago (16-2-2, 5 KO), a Spanish fighter ranked 85th in the world by BoxRec. The fight will be part of the David Haye-Tony Bellew card at London’s O2 Arena, and will be Selby’s first action since April 2016, when he beat Eric Hunter.

The fight is a smart one, in a sense, as Selby certainly needs to get back in action, and he won’t be taking any real risk against an unheralded opponent, while waiting for a suitable challenger, and for the IBF to name his next mandatory.

Selby-Gago will take place at a 129-pound catchweight.