By Matt Bevan

Tommy Langford will defend his British middleweight title against Craig Cunningham on April 22 at the Leicester Arena, as part of BT Sport’s push into the British boxing landscape in a fight that gives the winner bragging rights in Birmingham.

Langford, who won the title last November in a frustrating clash with Sam Sheedy in Cardiff, will defend the bauble for the first time and is looking forward to clashing with Cunningham in a fight he says will provide plenty of entertainment for BT viewers.

The 27-year-old, who has compiled an 18-0 record with six stoppages to his name, admits he was taken by surprise when the fight was scheduled for Leicester instead of both fighters’ hometown, but remains more than confident that he will give fans a top performance on the night.

Langford told Scene: “It’s a great fight for me, with the local rivalry adding a bit of extra spice as well as the bragging rights. Craig is a more than worthy opponent in a British title fight and has earned his right to be there, so this suits me down to the ground.

“If you look at his last few fights he was always the underdog, but he got the job done and turned it round, in particular in the Anthony Ogogo fight. He’s got that scalp on his record and he wants mine, so he’ll bring his best on the night, so I’m excited to show what I can do on BT.

“We’ve sparred in the past and done plenty of rounds, so he’ll be ambitious unlike Sheedy last time, whose only tactic was to try and throw me off, not come to win. I switched off at times while he was showboating and he was frustrating, but I stuck to my tactics and it worked for me. I know Craig will be in it to win it.”

Langford has no issue with the fight being in Leicester and expects to take plenty down the road to support him, while expecting the same from Cunningham. He intends to defend the Lonsdale belt, but admits he would jump if a bigger opportunity was on offer.

He also gave his thoughts on the much-talked about platform now available for Frank Warren’s fighters on BT and how the increase in the amount of shows will only be a good thing for him as he hopes to stay active and improve with every fight.

“I’ll be honest I didn't see this fight happening in Leicester,” he continued. "There must have been a conflict of dates with the venue or TV as I think we both expected it to be in Birmingham. But Leicester is only down the road and I’m sure he’ll bring plenty of fans and I certainly will, so it doesn’t matter to me where it is.

“The BT deal is pretty ground breaking and gives fighters more exposure than we were getting before. It’s going to be a busy year with even more fights to be announced, plus more additions to go with Nicola Adams, so it should be a massive year.

“I’ll be able to stay sharp in the gym, work towards specific dates and go through the levels, so there is my incentive. I’ll take what is in front of me, so at the moment that is defending the British, but if a shot at the world or European [title] comes up, I won’t turn it down.

“But I won’t just drop the British title and will defend it properly until something else does come up. As with all fighters I want to get as high up the levels as quick as possible, so the British title is a great start and I’ll defend it in proper fights against the likes of Craig Cunningham.”