British and Commonwealth super lightweight champion, Jack Rafferty, will make the first defence of his titles against Reece MacMillan.

The fight will take place on the undercard of Dereck Chisora’s heavyweight fight with Otto Wallin at Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester on February 8th

The undefeated Rafferty, 24-0 (15 KOs), won the title with an exciting come from behind stoppage of Henry Turner in October. The talented Turner got off to a quick start but Rafferty’s constant pressure eventually told and he slowly but surely broke the younger man down, punching his way to a tenth round stoppage.

Rafferty 29, who lives in Shaw, had been scheduled to defend his titles against Droylsden’s Kane Gardner in a Manchester derby.

Just days after the fight was announced, Gardner went ahead with a risky looking vacant Northern Area title fight with MacMillan, 17-1 (2 KOs).

MacMillan tore up the plans by boxing and fighting his way to a close decision victory. The career best win also saw him take Gardner’s place on the Chisora-Wallin show.

Despite his reputation as a big ticket seller and his all action style, Rafferty has remained one of the best kept secrets on the British scene for years and, remarkably, his title winning stoppage of Turner was his first appearance on television.

The exciting win changed the course of his career and he now gets the chance to establish himself as a major player on the 140lb scene.