Just a few days till Newark professional kickboxer Bailey ‘The British Bulldog’ Sugden walks back into the ring, this time in France where he will be up against Japan‘s Takeru Segawa for the double Lightweight MTGP and ISKA World Titles in Paris.

Their 61kg five-round contest on Saturday 24 June will take place at the Zenith Arena in front of an audience of 8,000 fight fans – it will also be broadcast live worldwide and you’ll find PPV details at the bottom of this web post.

“I’m so excited for this fight against Takeru,” said Bailey. “This is my chance to become a worldwide superstar and afterwards all the doubters out there will call me the legend slayer!”

“Despite the fact that Chad fought Muthel Groenhart in Las Vegas in 2015 when he was number 2 in GLORY at the time and Bailey himself fought at Madison Square Garden against the very seasoned pro Arthur Sorsor in 2017, this is definitely the biggest fight ever for Suggy’s Gym,” said Bailey’s coach and father Dean Sugden.

“Next Saturday we will be taking on a legend who has done something that’s never been done, winning three K-1 Grand Prix World Titles at three different weights. Quite simply, that is incredible – something that’s never been done before and probably will never be done again!

“But I believe Bailey’s in the best shape ever and don’t believe that the fact we’re coming down in weight will be a disadvantage. If anything, I think it’s just made us act more professionally towards making weight and having a nutritionist on board since the beginning of this camp will definitely pay dividends and we’ll be stronger at 61kg.

“Takeru is in for the fight of his life and I am confident that this will not only be the biggest fight of both Suggy’s Gym and Bailey’s careers but it will elevate our worldwide reputation and will be putting both our style and our system to the test at the highest level against the very best.

“K-1 is steeped in history and Takeru is the best K-1 fighter ever so here we are with an opportunity to test our home-grown skills, developed here in Newark, against the world-famous and renowned Takeru.

“And although he is already planning his next fight, we’re not looking beyond this one at all because as soon Bailey gets his hand raised in Paris later this week, we’ll be talking to the people with the big cheque books.

“That’s what it’s always about now as a prize fighter and although Bailey is a already a defending ISKA champion, this win will truly elevate his stock as they say in the kickboxing world.”

The action in Paris kicks off at 2.20pm UK time on Saturday, with Bailey’s fight the third on the card at approximately 3pm – to watch on Pay Per View, just follow this link…