LONDON, 9 June 2004 — Anthony Farnell announced yesterday that he will stand in for Joe Calzaghe at the MEN Arena in Manchester on Saturday night.
Welshman Calzaghe withdrew from his title challenge against IBF light-heavyweight champion Glen Johnson because of a back injury.
Farnell will be making the first defense of the WBU world middleweight title which he won back against Lawrence Murphy in Glasgow last March.
The 25-year-old, who returns to the city of his birth, beat Murphy on a technical knockout after Murphy went down three times. A challenger for the bout has yet to be confirmed.
Farnell has won 33 fights, 20 of them within the distance, and has lost three times.
Ricky Hatton will top the bill with what will be the 13th defense of his WBU light-welterweight title against Carlos Vilches.
