Skelton meets Rogan in Birmingham

Matt Skelton will defend his Commonwealth title on February 28 at the NIA, Birmingham, against Irishman Martin Rogan. Skelton, 41, is aiming for a second world title opportunity after losing to Ruslan Chagaev on points in Germany last year in a challenge for the WBA title. He will begin as favourite against undefeated Rogan, but will be wary of the Irishman following his shock defeat of Audley Harrison in December. The 37-year-old - who rose to prominence after winning the inaugural Prizefighter tournament - dug deep to out-point Harrison at London's ExCeL Arena. It lifted Rogan's record to 11-0 (5), but although he has suffered two career defeats, Skelton is the more experienced of the two. This will be his 14th championship fight, and he has now won the English, British, Commonwealth and European heavyweight titles. He captured that latter belt in December when he forced Paolo Vidoz to quit in Milan in December in a sensational victory that deserved more publicity than it received. "Rogan is a dangerous fighter and I was impressed by the way in which he dug deep against Harrison," said Skelton. "Anyone with an undefeated record is a threat because they don't know how to lose. "But I believe I will win this fight. When I lost to Chagaev people asked me whether I would quit, but I feel better than ever and I think that I'm still improving. "That fight in Germany against Chagaev showed me that I can compete at the highest level and I'm not out of place on the world scene. "And winning the European title in Italy against an Italian surprised a few people, but it didn't surprise me because I'm always very confident in my own ability." Skelton-Rogan will be joined on the bill by Don Broadhurst's Commonwealth super-flyweight title defence against former British champion Andy Bell, with an all Midlands derby, featuring Steve Bendall against Darren McDermott in an English middleweight title fight, also on the card. Tickets, priced at £30, £50, £100 & £150 are available from: Ticket Factory 0844 338 8000 Ticket Line 0871 424 4444 Ticket Master 0844 847 2500