Northampton boxer Conway off to USA as he lands fight on undercard of Saunders-Canelo clash

Conway will defend his WBA Intercontinental Super Welterweight title against France's Souleymane Cissokho at the AT & T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, May 8.

The main event on the Matchroom Boxing Fight Night will be Saunders' WBC, WBC and WBO world middleweight title clash with Mexican Canelo Álvarez.

But it is also going to be a huge night for Team Shoe-Box's Conway, with the fight night set to be played out in front of a full house of around 60,000 supporters in the USA.

It will be the first time Conway has fought outside of the United Kingdom.

His clash with Cissokho, who was a bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, will be beamed around the world on DAZN.

Conway was originally scheduled to fight Jessie Vargas on May 8, but the American pulled out a fortnight ago.

The 24-year-old Northampton fighter will now get the chance to square up to Cissokho, and he can't wait.

Writing on Twitter, Conway said: "We got that date set and ohh yeahhhh it’s a big one!. Excited to defend my title on a huge show in Texas, live on @DAZNBoxing with 60,000 people in attendance and all this millions of viewers around the worlds on May 8."

Conway will be itching to take on Cissokho, with the pair having originally been scheduled to fight each other in December, 2020, but the French fighter withdrew for 'administrative reasons'.

Speaking ahead of what would have been the original fight, Conway said of Cissokho: "It is a big test for me, but I have never been one to shy away from that.

"We are fighters at the end of the day, and if everything adds up right I will get in there with whoever because I am not scared to face any challenge.

"I truly believe I am going into this fight to win it, and I think they (Cissokho's team) are making a mistake this early on in his career.

"He hasn't been in the ring with a pro that's coming at him with my youth, my freshness and my eagerness to win. I think this is his first test."

Conway goes into the fight with a professional record of 18 fights, 16 wins, one draw and one defeat, while Cissokho has a 100 per cent win record from his 12 bouts.

His most recent fight was last month when he beat Daniel Echeverria in Dallas, Texas, but prior to that he hadn't stepped into the ring since September, 2019.

The fight against 29-year-old Cissokho will be Conway's first since he beat comfortably beat Macaulay McGowan at Wembley Arena in December.