PIVOTAL PERIOD
Two of Coldwell’s chief charges are preparing for big bouts, writes Chris Walker
IT is a welcome return to the highest echelon that boxing can offer over the next two months for Dave Coldwell as the senior members of his thriving stable take centre stage for the Sheffield trianer following a brief period of educating the next generation of his Rotherham-based gym. Jamie Mcdonnell returns to Monaco this weekend as he aims to extinguish the stench of doubt that lingered over his original meeting with Liborio Solis
almost a year ago and then Tony Bellew
becomes the priority as he is reunited with nemesis, David Haye,
on December 17. Both fighters were victorious in the original meetings and Coldwell has been meticulous in ensuring that similar results occur in both sequels.
“I really like what I’m seeing from Jamie these last few weeks,” buzzed Coldwell with a glowing confidence. “When Jamie comes into the gym with so much ambition then there are not many better sights and this fight reminds me of the [ Tomoki] Kameda rematch. If you remember in the first one it was very close and Jamie had to get up off the floor to win and afterwards you had people saying it was a fluke, well in that rematch he was absolutely brilliant and he was determined to prove to people just how good he was. The first fight with Solis was close and there was a lot of controversy in the scorecards afterwards and that has really got Jamie worked up for this return.”
A spirited performance from the Venezuelan won several plaudits that evening as he timed his attacks expertly to prevent Mcdonnell from sustaining any momentum. Mcdonnell also had his moments which made for compelling viewing but a fight that remained close from the outset was vandalised by poor officiating due to two wide scorecards. This prompted the WBA to order a rematch and Coldwell is desperate to remove any doubt on who is the better man.
“I said from day one it was the scorecards that created all the controversy because it was a close fight and there were ways that you could make Jamie the winner. If that would’ve been a split decision or one point in it then nobody would’ve complained. It was a close fight and I suppose a rematch is natural but you’ll see Jamie put on a proper show this Saturday night. The focus for Jamie at the moment is just Solis but he’s made it clear in the past that he hasn’t got long left at bantamweight. How he makes the weight is beyond me but he wants to win another world title at super-bantam and he’s also got one eye at featherweight due to how congested it is there and the number of good fights that can be made. We won’t look too hard at that just yet as there’s a very important fight coming up this weekend and it’s one where Jamie has to do a proper job.”
Also digesting Coldwell’s valued time is Liverpool’s Bellew, who is looking to make a mockery of the odds again against his London rival. An Achilles injury to the former two-weight world champion threw a tense contest into chaos back in March and Bellew took advantage of the situation to earn an 11th round stoppage. Rumours circulated regarding possible showdowns with beltholders Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker but the return was a natural choice and the studious Coldwell expects a better version of Haye this time around.
“He’ll be lighter, he’ll be a bit more patient and I think he’ll also have a lot more speed than the first time around and Tony is fully aware of that. Is there a chance that he thought he was just going to blow Tony away in the first fight? Probably but now he knows just how good Tony is and he’ll be treating this fight so seriously and he can expect the same from us. Tony has been back in for a few weeks now after a long time off and I’m happy with what I’m seeing so far. He’s got his sharpness there and we’ll step things up a level over the next few weeks. I’ve got some good sparring partners in mind and we know exactly what we have to do. The pair of us know Haye so well and what happened in the first fight wasn’t a shock to us and Tony will be going into the rematch with the same confidence and purpose.”
‘THE CONTROVERSY HAS REALLY GOT MCDONNELL WORKED UP’