Tyler Christopher, the light-middleweight who swapped Bermuda’s beaches for Birmingham, is facing the unintended consequence of his success: his unbeaten run is proving so impressive that it is making meaningful bouts increasingly hard to secure.
The 29-year-old boasts a perfect record of 10 straight wins and is poised for a breakthrough test. His last outing in March saw him dominate veteran journeyman Jordan Grannum, dropping him twice on the way to a landslide victory. This achievement is particularly notable as Grannum is rarely knocked down, a performance that has made other good fighters wary of taking him on.
The slow pace of his career progression—with only one fight in 2024 and two in 2023—has been compounded by the fact that Christopher is not yet a major ticket seller.
While he waits for a significant opportunity, Christopher is staying sharp with a four-rounder on Jon Pegg’s “Jingle Brawls” bill at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham Airport, this Sunday.
His opponent, Jensen Irving from Swindon, is better than his patchy record suggests and presents a focused challenge, having been stopped only once in a 38-bout career. Christopher must stay focused, as Irving recently travelled to Birmingham in August and outpointed the previously unbeaten Zain Ali.
Christopher revealed that administrative hurdles previously blocked a high-profile fight: “I was meant to fight in September against a fighter who has challenged for the British super welterweight title twice," he told Islandstats.com. "But unfortunately I didn't get the fight because the British boxing board implemented an expensive neuropsychological assessment that I didn’t have the funds for at the time."
Thanks to a successful plea for sponsorship, those financial barriers are lifting. Christopher is now backed by Woi Bermuda, Flowerwall Bermuda, and Tikur Organic Farm Bermuda/Ghana.
"Having these sponsors has made this camp easier than other camps," Christopher explained. "I’ve been able to fully focus on my boxing and also been able to pay for recovery sessions, like sport massages & meal preps."
He concluded with high ambitions: "This will be my 11th fight. Then 2026 should be the year I break into a televised card against the top names in the super welterweight division."
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