Fabio Wardley vs Nathan Gorman, Troy Williamson vs Josh Kelly order among BBBofC updates

The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) released the latest update on its suite of British champions today. Two bits of news stand out in particular:

• Eddie Hearn petitioned for and received clearance to have Fabio Wardley face Nathan Gorman for the heavyweight title, which Joe Joyce recently vacated.
• Super welterweight champion Troy Williamson has been ordered to defend his title against Josh Kelly after James Metcalf withdrew.

Dan Azeez vs. Shakan Pitters, Anthony Cacace vs. Alex Dilmaghani, Lee McGregor vs. Sean McGoldrick, and Tommy Frank vs. Jay Harris also had purse bids scheduled.

Wardley (14-0, 13 KO) vs. Gorman (19-1, 13 KO) is a really nice domestic dust-up on paper. There were high hopes around Gorman earlier in his career, to the point where many considered his fight with Daniel Dubois a pick-’em going in, but he’s settled for a trio of fairly under-the-radar wins since falling to “Dynamite.”

This represents both a step back into the spotlight and a career-best test for Wardley, who missed out on a chance to fight the very capable Kingsley Ibeh last weekend.

Kelley (11-1-1, 7 KO) has a date with the decently ranked Lucas Brian Ariel Bastida in two weeks, his second straight fight at 154 after David Avanesyan chased him out of the welterweight division. One would hope that he’d then face Williamson (18-0-1, 13 KO), who’s coming off of wins over Ted Cheeseman and Mason Cartwright, but it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Kelly elect to take the long road back into meaningful fights.