Author: Steven Donnell

Views on upcoming fights in UK and world scene

Williams vs Smith Big Fight Preview and Prediction

This weekend will see the biggest domestic bout of the year when Liam Smith takes on Liam Williams in the Manchester Arena for the interim WBO Super welterweight title, in what promises to be a great fight on BT Sports first show of there partnership with Frank Warren  .

Smith who is coming off a loss to Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in his last REAL fight (Not counting Smiths 4 rounder in Spain last month) has been quick to shoot down anyone who claims this is a 50/50 but the truth of the matter is there is very little to choose between these two . Yes you could argue that Liam Smith has fought at a much higher level , but Liam Williams is a rising star in the division and will be wanting to show the World what he can do, that makes him a very dangerus opponent . If Liam Smith is to get his career back on track he has to get it right on Saturday night , he must draw on his experience ,as thats where he does have an edge on Williams .

Liam Williams has been waiting for this opportunity for a while now and i have no doubt when Saturday night comes he will be ready to go to war. Williams has also been getting some top sparring ,with the likes of commonwealth champion David Brophy and after speaking to David he told me Liam Williams is in top shape for the fight of his life . Although Williams may not have shared the ring with the likes of Canelo Alvarez he has came through some tough fights and is always eager to entertain which makes him a fans favourite .

Prediction; I think the biggest danger to Liam Williams in this fight is Liam Williams himself . Williams has a top class jab and with the way Liam Smith moves i.e. in straight lines with little to no head movement , Smith is tailor made for Williams , the big danger for Williams is his eagerness to go toe to toe , if Williams boxes and establishes his jab ,i see him going home with the belt

Steven Donnell

Crolla vs Linares Review + My Thoughts on Joe Gallagher

Well folks on Saturday night we got to see something special, we got to see Jorge Linares get back to his absolute best as he took Anthony Crolla to peices over the 12 rounds . Most people expected a Linares win but the way in which he went about this victory sent a message out to the rest of the division .

From the off Linares looked sharper,quicker and more accurate than Crolla and although  there was not a lot to cheer it was obvious that Crolla had a mountain to climb if he was to win back his world title . As the early rounds crept on past Jorge Linares quickly worked his way thru the gears , catching Crolla out with his wide variation of punches to which Crolla had little to no reply . Crolla was taking a massive amount of punishment  trying to get inside and force Linares backwards , but the few times he did get inside he done something that was ludicras , he covered up, stood static and tried to throw single shots , i really couldn’t believe what i was watching . The first time these two had met Crolla was on a bit of a good run and although he was clearly outclassed in that fight he was a threat and did give Linares problems , this time Linares was even better but Crolla looked like a shadow of his former self, he looked as if he lacked belief and by half way i had Linares up by six rounds and really on cruise control . In the seventh Linares was really opening up on Crolla and even sent him to the canvas with a lovely upper cut Crolla didn’t even see coming , and it did for a bit look as tho the end was near but Anthony Crolla showing some great heart seen out the round . The trip to the canvas seemed to wake Crolla up because he took the eighth, but still only landing single shots and never really putting Linares in trouble, but it did look for a while that Linares might have gassed but that wasn’t to be for Crolla , Linares was just having a round off . In the closing rounds Linares went back up the gears the ,Crolla was struggling and there was very little coming back but Crolla having the heart of a lion would not stop coming forward . At the end of the eleventh as Crolla made his way back to his corner, Crolla and his trainer Joe Gallagher seemed to have a confrontation , Gallagher was trying to stop the fight going into the last round but after some pleading Crolla came out and stuck on in until the end to take some pride  in taking  it to the cards, but it was only a formality as all judges had scored it 118-109 , this really was a masterclass from Linares setting him up nice for Mikey Garcia to see who’s the No1 in the division .

So what next for Crolla ?

I think there is only one logical route for Crolla and thats to finally demand Eddie Hearn give the fans the fight they want, Crolla v Flanigan ,two lads from the same city who went to the same school fighting for a world title , that fight sells big , if nothing else it could be a massive check out fight for Anthony Crolla ,but already Hearn has put road blocks infant of this fight demanding Crolla gets £1m purse for the fight which is insane for a guy coming off two losses and holds no belts .

Now onto Joe Gallagher, Saturday night was a disaster for Gallagher and any fighter worth there weight will leave or stay well clear of this outdated dinosaur. I said in my preview to this fight Gallagher must leave his ego at the door but very early on in the night we seen that could never happen . Youngster Marcus Morrison was left in the ring by Gallagher to be savagely beaten from pillar to post for ten rounds , a fight that shouldn’t have went past the sixth, and really did become painful to watch to the point Tony Bellew on commentary was pleading for Gallagher to stop it to no avail . Then in the main event Crolla was sent out with the same boring domestic level tactics of high guard ,no head movement and just to walk forward onto severe punishment from a world class operator in Linares , bizarrely Gallagher had seen enough after eleven rounds and tried to stop it , Crolla is an experienced boxer who had 3 mins left to fight for pride and Gallagher tried to pull him out , yet let a youngster fight be humiliated for most of the ten rounds earlier in the evening ………madness .

Steven Donnell

Crolla vs Linares II : Big Fight Preview

This weekend Anthony Crolla will try to avenge his loss to the very highly rated Jorge Linares in the MEN Arena in Manchester . The first fight was very enjoyable bout but one Linares never really looked like losing as he controlled Crolla from start to finish , even with one hand broken in the middle rounds . So whats the point of this rematch ? what can Crolla do different if anything this time round ? .


One thing i have noticed in the build up to this fight is that Crolla has removed himself from the build up as much as possible . After the first fight Crolla had said he thought he could have done more, he also claimed he had to many distractions outside the ring in the build up and diverting to much energy elsewhere .

“I was driving around Manchester dropping off tickets to people like I’ve always done and it took up a lot of time, which is stupid really. This time I’ve got a few mates who help me out with that.

“That’s a big thing. It’s been a load off my shoulders and I am just concentrating on getting my belt back.”

I also got the feeling Crolla and his team underestimated the “past his peak” Linares first time round, a mistake Linares made sure they won’t make again. Crolla has improved dramatically over the past few years and i think to many people got caught up in the momentum he had built ignoring Jorge Linares as an elite level opponent . Crolla’s trainer  Joe Gallagher also has to hold his hands up to mistakes  from the first fight. The famous “Gallagher Six Round Rush” does not work at this level especially with Linares ,who has two of the fastest hands in boxing , Joe is going to have to make up a game plan that will get Crolla in close enough to work Linares’s body but see him back out of range before Linares can throw his punches in bunches a big ask i know but surly 2015 Ring Mag trainer of the year will work it out  .

Prediction; Sorry Crolla fans but i just can’t see past Jorge Linares ,the more i think about it ,i can only see a repeat result this time round , it might even be a late stoppage for Linares .Make no mistake Crolla does have the tools to beat Linares on the night , but he must leave everything in the ring on Saturday night and his trainer must leave his ego aside and tell Crolla how to use these tools to get the job done.

Impressive Debut By Conlan

I don’t think i have ever seen a pro debut so eagerly anticipated as that of Michael Conlan as he took on Tim Ibarra over Six Rounds on this St Patricks Day bout  . Over 2000 Irish fans and press had made the trip across the pond to take in this spectacle , and Conlan did not disappoint.

From the first bell you could see Ibarra was an awkward costumer who had a slight reach advantage and was planning on using every inch of it to keep Conlan away , and for the first round, at least  it looked to be a decent game plan as Conlan was finding it hard to get in range . That being said Conlan took the first round easy as Ibarra didn’t throw anything worth talking about and as the round went on the irishman looked to be settling down .

There are not many boxers out there with a better amateur pedigree than Michael Conlan but the big question was, Can he bring it to the pros ?…. Well in the second round we got that answer . Conlan came out the second round with a lot more intent , you could see he was getting closer to Iberra and about half way through the round he he got his reward with a viscous bodyshot landing which seemed to take wind out Iberra. From this point Iberra looked well out his depth only throwing back in desperation rather than intent, and the pro Conlan fans who where packed into the Theatre at Madison Square Garden where loving it , they knew this fight didn’t have long left.

Conlan picked up where he left off in third ,really catching the wounded Iberra at will , and after two minutes of intense punishment to the body the referee had seen enough . You’ve got to give it to Micheal Conlan for this performance, with all the hype from fans,press and promoters the pressure was on and Conlan handled it with style …….impressive

Steven Donnell

@DJayBoxingBlog @Dinobhoy86

Stephen Simmons Interview 

So again i had been invited down to Airdrie to Billy Nelsons Gym for a catch up with the MTK lads and Stephen Simmons in particular to talk about his upcoming British Title fight he was scheduled to fight in March against Welsh top prospect Craig Kennedy , a fight which he had accepted on short notice but was more than confident that he was going to take the title back to Scotland , but as i was dong my final preperations before heading out i had noticed the fight had been removed from the boxer schedule so i went down to find out why . DSC_0024.JPG

On entering the gym the usual lads where there and one familiar face in Rocky Fielding was there who had travelled up from Liverpool for a couple of days of sparring with David Brophy , so today was going to be a good day , Then in walks a dejected Stephen Simmons who had informed me in a previous meeting he was desperate to get back in the ring, so we got the camera rolling as the rest of the lads set about there training .

Stephen you where scheduled to fight Craig Kennedy for the vacant cruiserweight title but doesn’t seem to be happening now, can you tell me whats happened ?Watch the full interview here

Well due to circumstances which where out of my control I’ve had to pull out . I had took the fight on short notice anyway but as i stepped up my training a back injury i had in December has flared back up again, so to stop it getting as bad as it was I’ve had to pull out and just cut back to rehabbing,and do some exercises to strengthen it up .

Do you think you will get another shot at it later in the year ?

Yeah i belive so, its gotta come again as i am up there ,theres not many people infant of me . I will fight anybody at the weight and i will give anybody a good fight , so its gotta come again.

So when will we see you back in the ring ? 

I would like to be back April or the beginning of May, the rehab should only take a week to ten days so I’ve just got to step back from training and take a wee rest .

In your last outing you where on the wrong end of a split decision in Germany , did you believe you done enough to win that fight ?

Yeah , i done enough to win that fight easily in my opinion and in many other opinions, i won 8 of the rounds , so in my eyes i won by 4 rounds but it was a typical German decision .

Would you go back to Germany for the rematch or has that put you off ?

I would go back in a heartbeat because i know i would stop him, i started hurting him downstairs later in the fight, next time i would go there early doors and i would get the stoppage.

When i was down a few weeks ago i left amazed with how close a team this stable is , do you always pull together or is there any competitviness in the camp.

We always pull together as a team, Me and Brophy have been training together since we both turned pro ,even when i was away with other coaches we still kept in close contact . Now I’m back and we are close as ever and now Gary [Cornish] has now joined the wolfpack ,so we all gel together really well , and we have a coach in Billy Nelson who is on the same sort of mind level as us so we all get on really well . 

And just to finish up , i remember a few years ago things got a bit heated with you and Wadi Camacho ,is there still bad blood or was it all left in the ring that night ?

I wouldn’t talk to him if i walked past him on the street ….the guys a wank. I think he is an absolute disrespectful bastard so i would never talk to him infact il propably hit him a back hander .  

Watch the full interview here

DSC_0210.JPGMassive thanks again to the MTK guys and Billy Nelson for having us down , and we should have big News on Gary Cornish in the coming weeks swell as picking the brain of Billy Nelson which should be entertaining so watch this space .

Steven Donnell

@Dinobhoy86 also @DJayboxingblog

Haye vs Bellew Preview

So its here, the latest sky sports box office hype job of David Haye vs Tony Bellew will take place later tonight , and i have to admit the bombardment from the sky propaganda machine has even worked on me . Since this fight was announced I’ve viewed it no more than a exhibition fight, how can you not , Bellew is a average size cruiserweight coming up to  heavyweight to face a Haye, who is still at this ripe old age is top 5  in the division , but that won’t put me off watching .

David Haye has been one of the UKs best heavyweights for years and will be going into this fight the faster, bigger, stronger of the two if he is 100% fit, and thats what this fight boils down to , Is Haye injury free ? . I have tried to take no interest in the WWE style trash talk and try to focus on how Haye looks in training, but the videos that are available are short and sweet so we don’t really have any real indication of how Hayes training . Also Haye did admit to going to Germany to get checked out to make sure he was fit to fight but i wouldn’t read to much into this . A more worrying thing for any Haye fans is that this will be Hayes first real competitve fight since he beat Chisora in 2012, this is where Tony Bellew does have a slight edge on Haye.

Tony Bellew will be coming into this fight a massive underdog in most peoples eyes . At yesterdays weigh in he looked quite flabby next to the well sculptured body of Haye . But Bellew is confident he can drag Haye into a dog fight and he belives this is where he can beat him , and I’ve got to give Bomber Bellew credit here, since starting to train with Dave Caldwell he has improved dramatically in every aspect, now even living up to the name “Bomber”but does he have the power to trouble Haye ? ….i doubt it . I also believe the Bellew camp are putting to much stock in Haye’s fitness as a David Haye fighting at 50% should still be to much for Bellew . For me i think Bellew should run for the first five rounds and come on strong the second half of the fight, a risky tactic but one that could use Hayes inactivity against him.

Prediction; Well this a case of choosing with the heart or the mind, The mind says Haye is a far to much for Bellew, the power and speed of Haye will see him KO Bellew inside 5 rounds . The heart well that beats a hatred for Haye , Haye is the embodiment of everything thats wrong with boxing . The guy is little more than a whore who will milk his fans without thinking twice ,and even tho i might have a betting slip with his name on it ,there will be nobody happier than me if Bomber Bellew can pull it off .

Steven Donnell

Deontay Wilder :Wild By Name,Wild By Nature

Well this is going to sound a little cliche but “Wild by name,Wild by nature” , thats how Deontay Wilder left me feeling after seeing him KO Gerald Washington on his big return to the ring after his latest hand injury .

Washington had come into this fight a massive underdog but actually took the first four rounds of this fight with relative ease as Wilder looked to be puzzled by the giant Washington. From the word go Washington established his jab and used good movement to have the WBC Heavyweight Champion chasing shadows and looking well off the pace , well that was until the fifth round where Wilders awesome power dug him out of a hole and gave us the result we all expected, a Wilder Win by stoppage.

This fight did leave me asking myself “Can Wilder adapt his style to protect his fragile hand?”. Anyone who has watched Wilder before will always comment on his unothadox style , he throws punches from obscure angles which opponents don’t see coming , but this is the reason why he’s already had three hand breaks and really boxing on borrowed time until the inevitable happens and his hand breaks again .Due to his hand I was expecting to see a more calculated Wilder against Washington, a Wilder who picks his shots,uses his jab and pretty much be a well rounded boxer,  but i was sadly mistaken . The Wilder that showed up did nothing until the fifth and only really looked comfortable when swinging from the heavans . The fact that these adjustments where not made leads me to the conclusion that maybe Deontay Wilder doesn’t have it in his locker to change his style, maybe he can onlt fight one way …..Wild .

Steven Donnell

Exclusive: David Brophy Interview 

So i had been invited out to Billy Nelson’s Gym in Airdrie to catch up with David Brophy before he heads out to Australia to fight Zac Dunn for the commonwealth title and watch him spar with a Brazialian lad Dieago, whomb David described to me as “one tuff guy” . we also got to catch up with Stephen Simmons and Gary Cornish and both looked in fantastic shape .David Brophy interview

In the Gym you get the feeling this is one close stable, a group who you can tell enjoy each others company . As the lads are getting ready there is a lot of laughter and storytelling, we where even treated to 3 jokes by Billy, the same 3 Jokes he tells anyone new in the gym according to Gary Cornish and even then he still managed to mess one up . Then Billys tone changes ever so slightly and the laughter stops as these lads get ready to go to work . Full David Brophy interview

After watching David look really impressive in sparring against a very tricky partner we got our chance to sit down for a chat :

so David how are the preparations going for the fight ?

“Aye its going well the training has went as planned , I’m feeling sharper every day . The sparring is going well,the running is going well and theres been a great atmosphere in the gym so I’m really enjoying this camp and I’m looking forward to getting over there, getting away from this weather and doing a job over here.”

Zac Dunn has a bit of a reputation as a puncher, does that worry you or do you think his power is a bit overrated ?

“uch it doesn’t worry me , I’m going over there and theres a ring there , a fight’s a fight . We have got to deal with this the right way ,he is powerful and he is fit but he’s beatable . We will get our tactics spot on,the preparation in the gym is going according to plan for this fight ”

I seen on twitter last week you had Liam Williams up for sparring, preparation doesn’t get much better than that does it ?

“Liam is a good friend of mine, we have helped each other out with sparring loads of times before , He (williams) has the biggest fight of his life coming up against Liam Smith which is going to be a cracker. So he comes up and i go to Cardiff sometimes and we have a great relationship that way and he was great sparring , he was here for 3 days so we got a 8 round  and 10 rounds of sparring in so it was great preparation , you couldn’t get any better than that”

I notice with Billy Nelson and yourself on twitter yous go at it , no holds barred, do you find it hard to separate Billy the mate from Billy the cornerman ?

“We  know there is a fine line between that, but I’ve known billy for 7 years now unfortunately . We’ve got a good relationship inside and outside the gym but its two very different relationships . Billy has done a lot for me inside and outside the gym and we do know when to change it . It is only banter on twitter ”

with the wealth in knowledge Billy has it must give you confidence to go over there and talk you thru any changes that might need made .

“Billy has been in these situations loads of times, world title fights everywhere with Scott Harrison and Ricky Burns so i couldn’t ask for any more experience to take over there with me . Its worked up to now but we do have a long way to go on our journey ”

We also had time to ask David his thoughts on the George Groves fight

The Last time i seen you, you where training hard to go fight George Groves in the bright light lights of London , how was that experience ?

“It was good in terms of experience but it wasn’t good what happend, don’t get me wrong if i get offered that fight again tommorow for no money i would take it because that experience is priceless to have . It never went our way last time ,it was bad,its the loneliest shower I’ve ever had . I got things wrong altho i wasn’t nervus before the fight maybe the big stage did overcome me a little bit”

Watch the full interview and more here

would just like to thank all the MTK lads and Billy for having us down, really was an education watching these guys .
Steven Donnell @dinobhoy86 @Djayboxingblog

Does Fury deserve a crack at a World Title 

Well its official, Joseph Parker will take on Hughie Fury for the WBO Heavyweight Title in Auckland ,New Zealand . This is a fight team Fury will be looking at as very winnable after seeing Parker looked ordinary against Andy Ruiz, who let the chance of an upset slip thru his fingers by giving Parker to many of the middle rounds which proved to be the difference at the end of the fight and seen Parker take home the vacant title .Before i can get to excited about seeing Fury bringing another World Title back to the UK, the title that was stripped from his cousin Tyson , i have a few concerns about this fight .

Firstly, what has Hughie Fury done to deserve this title fight, he hasn’t fought anyone of any real stature in the division ,infact on Furys last outing he looked awful against Fred Kassi , this fight was brought to an end after a clash of heads gave Fury a nasty cut which took the fight to the cards, where all the judges had Fury clearly ahead , but don’t be fooled this was aweful viewing and to be honest i couldn’t see what all the fuss about Hughie Fury was about  . Before Kassi , Fury was took the distance by 40 year old veteran Dominick Guinn again hardly the kind of name that should get you a world title shot, but i am a big boy, and I’m not naive, i know how corrupt boxing can be especially at the top level .

Now onto the more sinister and bizarre “doping” fiasco that has surrounded team Fury for the past 6 months . News broke last year about Tyson Fury had failed a drug test and was accused of using PED’s , but by the time the public had found out Tyson Fury had already served his ban and that has cast doubt over Hughie’s long absence  from the ring . There are a lot of people out there who believe that Hughie was actually serving a ban in silence,not dealing with his blood condition as we had been told , now if there is any truth or substance to these rumours that will make this fight a sham and an embarrassment to the sport as a whole .

Steven Donnell

@dinobhoy86 @Djayboxingblog