Former Commonwealth champion Sam Sexton looks to put himself right back in the thick of British heavyweight action when he takes on murderous punching Larry ''War Machine'' Olubamiwo at the York Hall, Bethnal Green in London on January 13. Sexton established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division with back-to-back victories over maiden Prizefighter winner Martin Rogan, but came unstuck for the second time against Derek Chisora in a bout for the British and heavyweight titles in 2010. Olubamiwo is himself looking to bounce back from a first round knockout loss last time out against John McDermott.

Sexton vs Olubamiwo will be broadcast live by Frank Warren's BoxNation (Sky channel 456), action starting at 8 PM.

Sam Sexton and Larry Olubamiwo are part of the most buoyant and exciting British heavyweight scene since the 1960's, when the great Henry Cooper rubbed shoulders with the likes of Brian London, Dick Richardson, Joe Erskine, Jack Bodell and Billy Walker.

The current British heavyweight top 10 reads as Tyson Fury, Derek Chisora, Sexton, David Price, John McDermott, Michael Sprott, Olubamiwo, Tom Dallas, Richard Towers and Carl Baker. Baker can bang but is not a genuine title threat, and Sprott is coming to the end of an illustrious career.

Fury, Price and Towers are all undefeated young giants, each standing at least 6'8" tall and weighing in excess of 250 lbs. 6'6'' Tom Dallas has lost just once – in two rounds against Price. Chisora is world class, was robbed in his most recent bout against the WBO no.1 contender Robert Helenius and will fight Vitali Klitschko on February 18 in Germany. Fury beat Chisora with comparative ease when the two met last July and may ultimately turn out to be the best of the bunch, though he is still far from the finished article.

Although he has boxed just once in 15 months, Sexton knows that a convincing win over Olubamiwo will put him in pole position for a crack at the British title this summer.

27 year old Sam Sexton [14-2, six KOs] turned professional in 2005 and was soon marked down as a heavyweight of genuine potential. In June 2008 seven bout Sexton was matched against four fight novice Derek Chisora and despite being ahead on points suffered a shock loss when he was TKO at in the sixth and final round.

Sexton regrouped and entered the second addition of Prizefighter, defeating Pele Reid, Luke Simpkin and Chris Burton in the final to re-establish himself on the British heavyweight scene.

Sexton was a heavy betting underdog when he traveled to the Odyssey Arena in Belfast to take on the unbeaten Martin Rogan for the Commonwealth heavyweight title in May 2009. Rogan had won the first ever Prizefighter competition, and had followed that success up with a storming points victory over Audley Harrison and a sensational 11th round TKO over Matt Skelton for the Commonwealth heavyweight title. Rogan was on a roll, and steamrollering all before him.

The early rounds went according to form as Rogan bullied Sexton against the ropes, scoring with powerful hooks to the body and going for broke with haymakers to the head. Despite the intense pressure from Rogan, Sexton was scoring with his excellent left jab and slowly but surely shutting his opponent's right eye.

From the fifth round on, Sexton's straight right hand was finding the target, and although still aggressive, Rogan was not nearly as effective as he had been in the only rounds. At the conclusion of round eight, the referee ended the bout due to the severe swelling over Rogan's eye. Sexton had pulled off a shock victory in his opponent's backyard and grabbed the Commonwealth heavyweight title.

Six months later Sexton returned to the Odyssey Arena for the hotly anticipated rematch, this time taking control of the fight early, and stopping Rogan in six rounds.

With his confidence now sky-high, Sexton met his old nemesis Chisora in a rematch. Chisora had won the British heavyweight title with a two round KO over a badly faded Danny Williams, so when the two met at the LG Arena in Birmingham in September 2010, they were fighting for the right to be called the best heavyweight in Britain and the Commonwealth.

In an excellent fight, Sexton started the better of the two, with Chisora coming into his own in the middle rounds. Both men were rapidly running out of steam as the fight progressed, and by the ninth round it was literally a case of last man standing. An exhausted Chisora connected with a big right hand followed by a barrage of shots that had Sexton out on his feet, forcing the referee to jump in and stop the fight.

Sexton took a 13 month break from the ring following the Chisora defeat, but returned to action last October with a six round decision over tough Lithuanian trial-horse Remigijus Ziausys.

In an interview with the Norwich Evening News, Sexton said of his up coming clash with Olubamiwo:

''It's pretty much make or break – for both of us. That's why it's going to be a good fight no matter what. He's coming off a loss and I haven't fought for a long time as well, so it's a chance for both of us to establish where we are. Whoever wins is going to move forward very quickly and get other opportunities.''

Sexton continued: ''This is a must win fight for me, just to catapult me back up there again. I'm still rated number three in Great Britain, but you're not getting noticed so you need to stay in the public eye.''

On the subject of upcoming opponents Olubamiwo, Sexton said: ''He's tough and he punches very hard but I'm hoping he's going to tire out fast. He's clumsy and not as agile on his feet as me, so I'm just going to try and dance around him, getting there with quick, hard shots and hopefully taking out fairly early.''

33-year-old Larry Olubamiwo [10-2, nine KOs] must surely possess one of the most spectacular physiques in all of boxing. Standing 6'4", Olubamiwo's 260 lbs is sculptures into the kind of proportions that are more likely to be seen on stage in a bodybuilding competition than in a boxing ring.

While his physical dimensions may limit his flexibility and agility, they certainly do not harm his punching power, and Olubamiwo is rapidly gaining a reputation as a latter-day British version of America's legendary slugger Earnie Shavers.

After a term spent at her Majesty's pleasure, Olubamiwo turned professional with a first round knockout of Vlado Szabo in October 2008. After four straight KO wins, Olubamiwo was upset by Russian trial horse Daniil Peretyatko, losing a six round points decision in May 2009.

Olubamiwo grabbed a lot of UK fight fans attention when he iced Northern Ireland's Scott Belshaw in one round in January 2010, a feat that had been beyond Tyson Fury and Audley Harrison. Wallsend's Dave Ferguson had never been stopped in his career, and had British heavyweight title aspirations of his own, but he too was starched in a round by Olubamiwo.

The Hackney giants took a big step up in class when he squared off against former British title challenger John McDermott in February of last year. McDermott was on a four bout losing streak stretching back to July 2008 that included back to back defeats for the British heavyweight title against Danny Williams and consecutive losses for the English heavyweight title to Tyson Fury.

On paper at least, Olubamiwo looked to have a great chance of adding the scalp of the Basildon brawler to his CV, but a closer look at McDermott's record revealed a solid punching heavyweight with a penchant for early knockout wins. Since turning professional in 2000, McDermott 16 of his fights by KO, eight in the first round and four the second. McDermott could also be caught early, and had been stopped in two rounds by Nicolay Popov in 2003, and flattened in a round in a British heavyweight title fight by Matt Skelton in 2005.

Clearly, Olubamiwo v McDermott was going to be a clash of the gunslingers, with whoever was quickest on the draw and landed their shots early winning. McDermott, weighing in at a whopping 263 pounds and clearly not planning for a long night, came out winging left hooks and soon tagged Olubamiwo, flooring him before connecting with a badge of shots that forced the referee to stop the action after just 75 seconds.

It was a devastating setback for Olubamiwo, but one he has a chance to put behind him with a big victory over Sexton. Without doubt, his chin now looks suspect, and he will have to rely more than ever on his KO power.

Despite his immense size, Olubamiwo moves quite well and has excellent hand speed. He is extremely heavy-handed, and appears to be able to turn even glancing blows into knockout punches. However, Sexton proved against Rogan and Chisora that he has a good chin, and Olubamiwo will have to catch him cleanly to end the fight early.

The problem for Olubamiwo is that the further this fight goes, the lower his chances of winning become. In terms of pure boxing ability, Sexton is as good as anyone on the British heavyweight scene right now, and once he gets his jab pumping and his right cross working, he will be extremely difficult to dislodge.

I see Olubamiwo going for broke in the first three rounds, I would not be surprised if he was to floor or even stop Sexton early. However I believe Sexton gets through the early rounds, takes control of the fights by the fifth, and comes on strong in round eight, battering Olubamiwo with heavy right hands and forcing the referee to stop the contest.

Sexton by TKO in eight.

Big fights Odds: Sam Sexton 1/4, Larry Olubamiwo 11/4 bet365