Steve Collins Jr comes out of retirement to fight ‘Badman’

Steve Collins Jr [14(4)-3(2)-1] comes out of retirement to take on an unbeaten prospect on July 24th.

‘The Wolfhound’ takes on Iain ‘Badman’ Martell [10(4)-0] on the top of WBM bill at the Lee Valley Centre.

Martel is unbeaten in 10 and picked up the Southern Area cruiserweight title by defeating Jose Lopes in March of 2020 – and was out of action until last Friday when he stopped a journeyman in Sheffield on a Fitezone card.

SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

Ian Martell vs Steve Collins tops the bill at The Lee Valley Centre on July 24th

Featuring @tommysweet_t , @Bill_Under, @boyjonesjnr , Louise Orton, Ibz Mercan, @NickParpa , Daniel Khan and Kerim Aguis on the undercard .

Live on @fightzonetv pic.twitter.com/AFuzITylQT

— Alfie Warren (@alfieRwarren) May 26, 2021

Collins hasn’t fought since March of 2020 when he was caught cold and stopped by Australian prospect Cesar Mateo Tapia, who has since gone on to win an Oceania title.

That first-round Dubai-hosted KO defeat came on the back of a last-round stoppage defeat in a BUI title fight with Padraig McCrory at the Félie and prompted Collins to call it a day and enter management.

Speaking at the time he said: “As everyone knows I grew up in boxing and it was a dream come true to make it a career, but as most fighters will tell you, there’s always that fear of ‘what’s next’ when the journey is over and it’s time to hang up your gloves because boxing is not just a job, it’s a life, so I feel incredibly privileged to find a new journey in the industry that is my life and MTK Global are the best in the business,” said Collins.

The BUI Celtic super middleweight and Irish light heavyweight title challenger is now back and it appears he will compete at cruiserweight.

While he hasn’t been active over the last year or so, Collins has always stayed in shape and has continually sparred. The Dubliner is a regular in the Colosseum Gym and has been working with European cruiserweight champion Tommy McCarthy among others.