Joe’s high five!
TRAINER ENJOYS WHIRLWIND WEEKEND OF WINS
JOE Gallagher has reflected on his whirlwind 24 hours which saw his gym pick up a win in Germany on Saturday before he made a mad dash back to Manchester for four more victories on Sunday.
The weekend began with Callum Smith defeating Nieky Holzken in the semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series in Nuremberg, setting up a world title showdown with George Groves later this year.
Four more of Gallagher’s fighters were then in action on Sunday as Hosea Burton, Marcus Morrison, Sam Hyde and Natasha Jonas all picked up victories at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester.
Gallagher was delighted with what he saw from his boxers, and detailed the journey he had to take to ensure he got back in time.
“It was a busy 24 hours. We had Callum Smith book himself into the World Boxing Super Series final in Germany and then had four wins in Manchester on Sunday,” he told M.E.N. Sport.
“We got back to the hotel at 2.45am on Saturday so it was an hour and half of sleep and then up at 4.15am.
“We then had a two-hour drive to Munich and flew back from there and landed in Manchester at 10am before getting to Victoria Warehouse at 3pm, so I definitely slept well on Sunday night! It was straight back in the gym on Monday morning though. Sometimes you can spend too long in the gym and forget what fight night is really about. Everything we saw over the weekend from the boxers was improvements on what we had done in training. “They all performed well and did things they haven’t done before. It’s good when they’re all boxing together as they’ve trained alongside each other over Christmas and all been through it together. They cheer everyone on and the team spirit is really high now. “It was a disciplined performance
Sometimes you can spend too long in the gym and forget what fight night is really about Joe Gallagher
from Callum on Saturday. He won it well so it’s game on now with the final against Groves.
“I was happy with everyone who boxed on Sunday too. Natasha Jonas put in an exhibition of pure boxing and I thought it was the best we’ve seen her, she is getting better and better.
“Hosea Burton had a good eight rounds and it’s been a while since he got that many rounds under his belt. Marcus Morrison was involved in a bit of a shoot-out and then got a brutal finish in the second round, and Sam Hyde looked sharp. It was a really good weekend for the gym.”
Smith may have to wait until July to face Groves after the WBA champion underwent surgery on the shoulder he dislocated in beating Chris Eubank Jnr earlier this month.