Commonwealth Welterweight champ John O’Donnell is relishing the opportunity to showcase his skills at the Watford Colosseum on September 5th. The Shepherd’s Bush southpaw will meet upset specialist Tom Glover in the main event of a Hennessy Sports event live on ITV4. Despite Glover’s impressive recent form O’Donnell is adamant that there will be no surprise result this time round..
O’Donnell has enjoyed an excellent year himself which has seen him capture the Commonwealth title and earn a place on the BBBofC’s shortlist for the Young Boxer of the Year award. However the 23-year-old stylist believes the best is yet to come and he’s determined to improve on his title winning effort against Craig Watson last time out.
“Looking back at the tape of the Watson fight I realised that I didn’t really do myself any justice,” admitted O’Donnell. “I won the fight by fighting his fight instead of sticking to what I do best. He got under my skin a little in the build up and I wanted to prove that I could stand toe to toe with him and beat him at his own game. I did that but I could have made it so much easier for myself if I’d used my boxing ability.”
O’Donnell is determined to put the lessons learned against Watson to good use when he meets Glover next month. “Tom’s on a great run, he’s beaten some good fighters in his last few contests and I was impressed with his win over Jon Thaxton last month but I’m 100% confident I can do a job on him. Boxing is all about levels and I believe I’m simply on a different level to him but it’s up to me to go into that ring and prove it.
“He’s a tough kid and he’ll be looking to drag me into a fight but I’m just going to have to be disciplined and use my speed and boxing ability to outclass him. I know I need to improve on the Watson fight. I won but I wasn’t at all happy with my performance and I know there’s plenty more to come from me.”
O’Donnell wants to end Glover’s good run before seeking out a clash with British Champion Kell Brook. “I’ve won the Commonwealth title and I want to do things the traditional way by winning the British and European belts as well before hopefully getting a crack at a World title. I believe I’m good enough to go all the way and now that I’ve the Commonwealth title I want to push on and start adding the other belts as well.”
The chief support at the Watford Colosseum will see Lee Purdy and Peter McDonagh clash for the vacant Southern Area Welterweight title in a repeat of their first thrilling encounter last December that saw McDonagh emerge victorious on a narrow points decision.
The undercard also features unbeaten prospects Steve O’Meara, Richard Towers, Bradley Evans and Bobby “Boogaloo” Ward alongside the pro debut of Brendan Ingle’s new Yemeni sensation Kid Galahad (subject to board approval). Tickets priced £35, £40 and £75 are available from the Ticketline box office on 0844 888 4402 or via www.ticketline.co.uk.
Paul Smith Gets For Clever Advice
Paul Smith says he’ll be picking the brains of Nathan Cleverly ahead of his big clash with fierce rival Tony Quigley on October 30. The pair meet in a thrilling all-Merseyside clash for the British super-middleweight title at the Liverpool Echo Arena. Kell Brook’s British welterweight title defence against Michael Jennings is joint top of the bill. And Smith has promised to consult Cleverly before the fight – and may even spar with him – as the Welshman is the only man to have beaten Quigley.
The 22-year-old, who is the current British and Commonwealth champion at light-heavyweight, stopped Quigley with a body shot in the fifth round at the M.E.N Arena in October 2006.
“I’ll be leaving no stone unturned when it comes to preparations for this fight, and I’ll be taking some notes from Nathan,” said Smith.
“Hopefully he can give me a few tips on how to beat Quigley and tell me exactly how I can knock him out, although I’ve got a fairly good idea already.
“We even talked about doing some sparring as Nathan fights on October 9 and my fight is only a few weeks later,”
“Cleverly might have been the first man to have stopped, but I’ll be the second.”
Cleverly added: “I’d be delighted to help out Paul ahead of his big fight, although he’s got the talent to win whatever I tell him.
“Fortunately I remember my fight with Quigley really well because it was one of my best performances.
“We were both unbeaten at the time, and the pressure was on because it was a bit of a crossroads fight.
“Tony came to fight, and I like to stand there and have a go myself, so we both went at it pretty much from the first bell – it was definitely one of the fights of the night.
“Eventually I wore Quigley down and did him with a body shot, so that’s something that Paul should be looking to do as well.”
Tickets priced at £30 (Tier), £40 (Tier), £50 (Tier), £100 (Floor), £150 (Floor) and £200 (Ringside) are available from:
Liverpool Echo Arena
0844 8000 400
www.accliverpool.com
CLEVERLY MEETS WITH THE ROYAL WELSH AND SUPPORTS THEIR CAMPAIGN
Nathan Cleverly has been given his marching orders – after meeting up with soldiers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh, at his boxing gym yesterday (24 August).
The Royal Welsh are set to depart for Afghanistan soon and wanted to meet the new star of British boxing before they go on a six month tour of duty.
Cleverly, who defends his Commonwealth title at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena on October 9, is showing his support for the The Royal Welsh and the great job they are doing by fully endorsing “The Soldiers Charity” and wearing the “Support the Royal Welsh in Afghanistan” wristband.
“People say boxers are brave for getting in the ring, but you’ve got to be even braver to be a soldier and I’ve got nothing but for admiration for these boys,” said 22-year-old Cleverly.
“It was a privilege to meet some of the troops before their tour of duty and I wished them the best of luck.
“They’ll make Wales proud, and finger crossed I can lift their spirits by winning my next fight in style.”
The 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh is based at the Dale Barracks, Chester having returned from a two-year deployment in Cyprus in August 2008.
During the Battalion’s time in Cyprus they deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, The Lebanon and The Falkland Islands. The Battalion is due to be based in Chester for the next eight years.
The 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh will deploy to Afghanistan in October 2009 as the Regional Battle Group (South) (RBG(S)).
In this role 1 Royal Welsh will be based in Kandahar and operate across the whole of Southern Afghanistan.
This will include Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgun and Zabul Provinces.
Continuing casualties sustained by the British Army in Afghanistan are putting an increasing demand on services charities.
Soldiers from 1 Royal Welsh have been fortunate to be supported by these charities in the past and are likely to need them in the future.
The Battalion is therefore supporting the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) – “The Soldiers’ Charity” in the sale of the “Support the Royal Welsh in Afghanistan” bands.
Half the money raised from the sale of these bands will go to the ABF and the remaining money will be used as a welfare fund to support the soldiers and families of 1 Royal Welsh during and after the Afghanistan tour.
Soldiers and wives from the 1st Battalion have already raise a significant sum of money for the ABF by completing the Three Peaks Challenge of climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in under 30 hour.
*Photos can be viewed on www.frankwarren.tv*