ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Things are looking up for Gill,
CAMBRIDGESHIRE featherweight Jordan Gill, 22-0 (6), gets top billing this Saturday (March 2) at the East of England Arena in his home county. Headlining a Matchroom Boxing show live on Sky Sports Action (UK) and DAZN (US) represents a major upswing in the 24-year-old’s fortunes.
Back in mid-2017, Gill was in the midst of a long period of inactivity. With his career stagnating, the Chatteris man headed off to Rotherham for a fresh start with trainer Dave Coldwell in August of that year, after previously fighting out of the Ingle Gym in Sheffield. Six straight wins have followed for “The Thrill”, including four in 2018, which was by far the most productive 12 months he has experienced in the ring so far.
In February, he unanimously outscored former two-weight Commonwealth king Jason Cunningham, before keeping busy with a couple of routine victories in May and August. Gill rounded off a fruitful year in October by securing his first belt – the Commonwealth crown – with a seventh-round stoppage of defending champion Ryan Doyle.
Gill’s opponent in Peterborough this weekend is 25-year-old Mexican Emmanuel Dominguez, 24-7-2 (16). The Aguascalientes native has a 1-1-1 record outside of his home country and has never fought in Europe before. He holds a fourth-frame knockout win over ex-three-division world title challenger Alejandro Hernandez from September 2016, but lost his most notable bout last year to then-fringe contender Toka Kahn Clary (ud 10 – June). He has only been stopped once in seven defeats, and that came against the hard-hitting Emanuel Navarrete (four rounds – August 2014), who is the current WBO superbantamweight boss.
Nicknamed “Veneno” (Poison), the 5ft 9in Dominguez is a couple of inches taller than Gill. Tough, tenacious and busy, he flings out long jabs, often followed by left hooks both upstairs and down. Gill also varies his shots effectively to head and body, including hooks and uppercuts. A classy operator with quick reflexes, the Fens fighter moves intelligently, pumping out sharp jabs as he goes. Against both Cunningham and Doyle he demonstrated a solid chin, and although his KO ratio is underwhelming, his punching power seems to be improving. Dominguez’s durability means that an inside-schedule success is unlikely for Gill, who will instead have to settle for a clear points triumph over 12 rounds.
The Commonwealth featherweight strap that was vacated by Gill is up for grabs on the undercard, as Nottingham’s
Leigh Wood, 20-1 (10), takes on Ghanaian
Abraham Osei Bonsu, 13-3-1 (11). The only loss on Wood’s ledger came in good company – when contesting the vacant British super-bantam belt against Gavin Mcdonnell (rsf 6 – February 2014), who has since gone on to challenge for world honours on two occasions. Wood has not been as active as he would have liked in recent years – partly due to injury – yet he is the favourite to beat Accra’s Bonsu, who packs a decent dig but has no experience of fighting out of Africa. Wood’s firm flurries can see him earn a decision.
Meanwhile, in an interesting cruiserweight 10-rounder, Walworth’s tall and heavy-handed Richard Riakporhe, 8-0 (7), collides with Belfast’s useful and well-schooled Tommy Mccarthy, 13-1 (6). Despite being less seasoned than Mccarthy, who won a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Riakporhe’s raw athleticism should see him through on the scorecards.
Further down the bill, there are runouts for a couple of former successful British amateurs who are in the early stages of their pro journeys – Leeds super-bantamweight Qais Ashfaq, 4-0 (2), and fellow southpaw John Docherty, 3-0 (3), the Montrose supermiddleweight.
THE VERDICT A WBA top 15 ranking awaits Gill if he can get past Dominguez.