Richardson hopes for early 2026 ring return
Olympic medallist Lewis Richardson is hoping to have his next professional fight at the end of January.
Richardson turned pro following a successful amateur career with Team GB, culminating in a bronze medal at the Paris Games in 2024.
He outpointed Dmitri Protkunas over six rounds at Ipswich Town's Portman Road ground in June and followed that two months later with a similar victory over Artjom Spatar.
"Put it this way, I'll be training throughout Christmas so there should be an announcement coming soon, so keep an eye out for the end of Jan," middleweight Richardson, from Colchester, told BBC Essex.
"It probably does me a favour because I love Christmas and I always overindulge. In the build-up to 2024, I had to have a very small Christmas, it was literally Christmas Day and a little bit of Boxing Day.
"This year I may allow myself Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day but I don't need a two-week period, I just get greedy – and in a weight-making sport as well. So, I'll just enjoy those three days and it'll be back to business."
Richardson – who is signed to Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions – was speaking at the Essex Activity awards at which footballer Michelle Agyemang was named 2025 Sports Personality of the Year.
"I've had a fantastic year, undefeated inside the ring but also developing and growing outside the ring as an athlete, but also as a person," he said.
"I try not to be too tight on targets because I've learned in previous years where I've had targets, especially within boxing, and there's been uncontrollables that have made them not possible, and you can look back and see that as a failure of a year, but alongside that I've been able to grow in other aspects.
"It's a tough sport that I do but you can find a lot of enjoyment out of it also, it's about trying to find that balance."
BBC Essex will broadcast a special programme about the Activity awards on 22 December
