Mark Chamberlain v Pierce O’Leary: Pompey favourite is back for world title bid

Pompey’s Mark Chamberlain has made it clear he is more than ready to launch a world title bid as he prepares for his ring return.

The Waterlooville-born boxer is preparing to lock horns with IBO super lightweight world champion Pierce O’Leary on August 1 after their initial bout in March was postponed.

The 27-year-old pulled out of the fight due to illness, which would’ve marked his first since his ‘fight of the year contender’ with Jack Rafferty in August 2025.

Chamberlain admitted he was offered a keep-active fight, but turned it down to avoid any potential injury issues ahead of his title-battle in two months.

The Pompey ace will be in enemy territory, however. Irishman O’Leary will be on home soil at the 3Arena in Dublin, with the bout taking place in front of the DAZN cameras.

And after a near 10-month absence from the ring, Chamberlain has explained the lengths it took to get his world-title challenge back on after March’s postponement.

Speaking to DAZN and Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions on YouTube, he said: ‘It’s good to be back. It actually only felt like a month ago I was here but we’ve got a new date and we go again on August 1.

‘I got ill the first time round and your health comes before anything so we made the right decision as a team to pull the fight. It was a shame to do that but I had to.

‘I got myself better and went to have a meeting with Frank (Warren) and there were a few options put towards me and we left it with them to say what was happening next.

‘This fight was off the cards, it wasn't there at the time because the first thing I said was can Pierce defend against me?

‘They said it wasn’t what their team wanted next for him but I don’t know what happened their end, maybe no one wanted to take the fight or flight him.

‘Then all of a sudden it got offered back to me again. I’ve obviously taken it and got a deal done and here we go again.

‘I want to make it clear I was offered a keep active fight in between this fight before taking it as well. I made it clear I wanted to be back into the mix and in a big fight.

‘My last fight was Jack Rafferty back in August and it just didn’t make sense for me to fight an eight rounder against someone that's going to come overseas and roll over for two or three rounds because then I run this risk of getting cut or breaking my hand and then this fight would’ve been off the cards for me.

‘From a business point of view, it made sense to jump back into this big fight and then we come through on August 1, get the IBO world title and go on to bigger and better things.’

After Chamberlain pulled out of March’s bout, O’Leary went on to defend his title against seasoned veteran Maxi Hughes.

And preparing for his second bite of the cherry, the Pompey sensation is well aware of the threat the current world champion poses.

‘The same as what I knew back then about him when I was here,’ said Chamberlain, when asked what he knew about O’Leary.

‘He’s a good fighter, strong, comes forward and we’ll work on the same things we were working on like last time round and then we’ll be able to put it together on the night.

‘I suppose the fight is happening a few months later so it’s a few months more preparation.

‘Just what we’ve been working on in the gym since the first time round it got announced.

‘I won’t let too much go about that (the preparation) but we’ve got a plan underway and we’ve got to keep drilling it in the gym and pull it off on the night.’