Some of the characters who helped lift British boxing to its current perch – fighters like Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora, Chris Eubank Jr. – are still hanging on, eyeing a final opportunity or payday. Others – Amir Khan, Kell Brook, Carl Frampton and Carl Froch – are long gone and enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Filling the void left behind won’t be easy and the race is on to create championship level fighters who are capable of capturing the public’s imagination and filling arenas.

Matchroom have groomed Pat Brown as one of the leaders of the next generation since he turned professional after his appearance at the 2024 Olympics.

On Saturday, Brown (6-0, 6 KOs) will fight John Hedges (12-0, 3 KOs) for the vacant British and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.

So far, The Ring's 2025 'Prospect of the Year' nominee has lived up to his billing, scoring six consecutive finishes. Saturday night will be the first time he has been entrusted to headline a show at one of the city’s huge arenas.

Given his no-nonsense style of fighting but good-humored nature, Brown, 26, should quickly become a major favorite with Manchester fight fans who have been waiting for a local hero to throw their weight behind since the days of Ricky Hatton and Anthony Crolla.

Standing 6-foot-6 tall, the personable Hedges turned professional as a gangly super-middleweight but has grown into the cruiserweight division.

The Essex man's form is good. In July 2024 he beat the previously undefeated Lewis Oakford and then won the English title against Nathan Quarless. Last time out he scored a career-best 10-round win over Ellis Zorro.

The 24-year-old doesn’t have the same thumping power as Brown but he has figured out how to use his size, boxing ability and southpaw stance to be effective. He is also used to working with big physical men and, earlier this year, spent two camps sparring Jermaine Franklin before the American boxed Moses Itauma.

Hedges will need to earn Brown’s respect relatively quickly but will almost certainly end up relying on nous to outfox the hometown favorite, who may be wary of over-committing too quickly and look to show some of the skill that earned him a place at Paris 2024. Eventually, however, he will set his mind on closing the distance and breaking down his younger opponent.

The Ring’s Mike Coppinger has made his prediction. Think you can beat him? Predict winners for prizes.

Pat Brown: “People haven't seen my boxing side yet, so wait and see. This is the aim of the game, isn't it? This is where you show yourself on the big stage. People haven't seen what I was like as an amateur fully, all them fights I had and all the sparring I had, but I'll showcase a different set of skills for this fight, definitely, because I'm going to have to bring it.”

John Hedges: “He's a powerful man. He's got good speed, obviously got good boxing ability at the same time but I think a lot of people doubt what I'm about as well.

“I'm a 6-foot-6 southpaw, a big awkward fellow as well. I think what he's been able to do against his last few opponents where, like he said, because they've been coming there quite game, they’re there to be hit and that kind of plays into his hands.”

Bet365 have Brown as a massive 1/6 (-600) favorite to win the fight and 1/2 (-200) to end matters inside the distance. Hedges is a 7-2 (+350) underdog and a 7/1 (+700) shot to win a decision.

Shabaz Masoud boxes for the first time since he impressively outpointed Peter McGrail in December. The 30-year-old is a talented fighter but injuries have prevented him from building any momentum.

Masoud (15-0, 4 KOs) has moved up from the junior featherweight division and will be hoping a win over Argentina’s Ckari Cani Mansilla (19-4, 13 KOs) leads to a big fight at 126 pounds.

Co-op Live Arena, Manchester.

Hedges v Brown will be streamed live on DAZN.

Prelim coverage gets underway at 4:15 p.m. BST/11:15 A.M. ET on the DAZN YouTube channel, while the main card starts at 7 p.m. BST & 2 p.m. ET on DAZN.