ACCRINGTON boxer Luke Blackledge has been sparring with Carl Froch as he waited for confirmation yesterday about whether his British title fight with Paul Smith will still go ahead.

It was announced in September that Blackledge would fight for the British title for the first time, taking on Smith in a super middleweight bout at the Liverpool Echo Arena on December 7.

The 23-year-old has spent the past four weeks in sparring with multiple world champion Froch, who is similarly preparing to take on George Groves in Manchester on November 23.

But Blackledge’s fight with Smith was thrown into major doubt when his opponent announced that he was splitting with promoter Frank Warren and said he would no longer be fighting on December 7.

Blackledge only found out the news on Twitter.

Warren, however, challenged Smith’s decision – saying he still has a valid contract – and the British Boxing Board of Control were yesterday deciding what course of action to take. Smith’s younger brother Stephen was suspended by the boxing board last month after also terminating his contract with Warren.

Smith has continued training and sparring ahead of the potential meeting with Blackledge, who was yesterday still hoping that he would receive the news that the title fight would go ahead.