boxing

Ding ding! Filming is underway for A Thousand Blows, the 12-part drama set in the gritty world of 1880s illegal boxing in the East End of London.

The series centres on two protagonists, Heziah, played by Malachi Kirby (Small Axe), and Alec, played by Francis Lovehall (His Dark Materials). The pair are thrust into the underground London boxing scene after arriving from Jamaica, and quickly find themselves fighting on all fronts in a punishing world of violence and lawlessness.

After a summer in the Love Island villa, the pair found love with Molly-Mae Hague and Maura Higgins and also started their unlikely bromance.

The new series will see Fury and Pritchard swap jobs and tackle the challenges of stepping into each other’s shoes.

Professional boxer Fury will hang up his boxing gloves and put on his dancing shoes to train with a professional dancer and get ready for a ballroom competition.

Yet playing a villain in his first leading role was perfect for the 21-year-old newcomer. “I love it because it’s so far removed from who you really are,” he tells the RTS.

His chilling portrayal of teenage psychopath Sam Woodford secured Rowan a nomination for an acting award at this year's RTS Programme Awards alongside “two kings” Stephen Graham and Sean Bean.

“Even to be in the same sentence [as them] is beyond me, I’m just kind of pinching myself.”

Former MMA fighter Michael ‘Venom’ Page opened proceedings, dancing his way around his opponent and mocking his rival’s woozy stumbling by pretending to stagger. The headline fight, which saw Olympian Joe Joyce face off against south London rival Ian Lewison, was similarly memorable as Joyce maintained a strong defense against his aggressive rival before mounting an offensive against his tiring opponent. Dave's inaugural Fight Night proved one thing: big personalities define Haye’s stable of fighters. 

The fight will be broadcast live on entertainment channel Dave from 9pm, and will feature three of Haye and Schafer’s new signings.

Heavyweight Olympic silver medallist Joe ‘Juggernaut’ Joyce will headline the fight night as he makes his professional debut against fellow south Londoner and former WBO Inter-Continental Champion Ian Lewison. Lewison brings a lot of experience to the ring, and an impressive record of 12-3, with eight won by knockout.

With over 30 fights and 28 wins under his belt, former world heavyweight and cruiserweight champion David Haye is looking for the next challenge. He’s paired up with leading boxing promoter Richard Schaefer to launch the careers of four future boxing champions.

Over the next three years, UKTV channel Dave will be showing off the pair’s new signings in a series of boxing fight nights.

The three-year deal between UKTV channel Dave and Hayemaker Ringstar follows on from the success of David Haye’s highly anticipated comeback fight on the channel last year, which broke network records and peaked at over 3 million viewers – up 461% on the slot.

Chris Eubank’s fights captivated audiences on ITV more than 20 years ago, and now his son is following in his footsteps.

The IBO World Super Middleweight Title fight between Chris Eubank Jnr, Britain’s number one middleweight, and Quinlan, holder of the IBO World Super Middleweight Title, will be shown on ITV Box Office, ITV’s new pay-per-view channel, early in 2017. This will be the first time ITV will show a pay-per-view event.

Monday: A Lawful Killing: Mark Duggan

BBC One, 8.30pm

This is a one-off 90-minute documentary with dramatic reconstructions of the police shooting of Mark Duggan in Tottenham in August 2011.