Florian Marku and Chris Kongo will settle their differences in a welterweight contest in March; Marku warns Kongo: "He's going to regret it. He's going to regret it for sure that he chose to fight me"
Tuesday 23 January 2024 17:32, UK
Welterweight rivals Florian Marku and Chris Kongo have agreed to fight each other next.
Marku and Kongo had a heated confrontation when they came across one another at a press conference in August last year.
They had to be held apart in a scuffle and will now settle their differences in a bout that they've signed for, and which is expected to take place in March on Sky Sports.
"He wanted to get the eyes of people looking at him. I knew that he wanted that fight," Marku told Sky Sports.
"I said to him 'first of all go beat the guys that beat you'," Marku explained. "Then come and speak to me.
"He was not going and I pushed him."
Kongo said: "Him being a hothead how he is, he ended up pushing me. It could have been an altercation but security's there.
"I'm excited now. The fight is here. This is what we want, this is what the supporters are asking and we're going to give it to them. It's a good one.
"Now I believe he's been backed into a corner, he can't go nowhere now. He's got to fight the likes of me or any of the top 10 in the UK now.
"It's only right for him to fight me because we've built up a rapport now."
But Marku warned him: "He's going to regret it. He's going to regret it for sure that he chose to fight me.
"His wish came true. I know that he will be training too much for this fight because that is his most important fight of his life till now.
"But I have always been training as if it is the most important fight of my life and when we're in the ring he will understand that."
After knocking out Dylan Moran in just one round, Marku has been pressing for a major fight. Kongo suffered a narrow loss last time out in a quality British title fight with Ekow Essuman and is now working his way back into contention.
It's a contest that promoter Ben Shalom relishes. "It's got so personal and in that division it makes a lot of sense. I think with Florian, with the work that he's done with Grant Smith, I want him to show that he's more than just a cult figure. He's a very, very talented fighter," he said.
"Now we've got a mature Florian Marku with a great trainer, this is the time to prove that he's serious in the division and Chris Kongo will show that. That's where Florian needs to prove himself but in a grudge match where they don't like each other, there is history. It's a great fight.
"This is a chance that Florian Marku's handed to Chris Kongo and Chris has to really focus," Shalom continued. "A chance to really bounce back in a big way, especially after what happened with Ekow Essuman. He should have won that fight, I think.
"It's a must-win for both."
