Tag: All Boxing

Gary Sweeney “I’m Back In The Swing Of Things

When i hear the the old Cliche “Boxing is in my DNA” i pass it off as a template answer , something to fill in a blank ….well that was until i caught up with Irish Cruiserweight Gary Sweeney (23) . Gary comes from a real fighting family with four older brothers being Amateur Champions in Mayo Ireland , with his brother/mentor and now trainer Micheal Sweeney also being a former professional but Gary says it all goes back to his Grandfather .

“My Grandfather never liked talking to us about boxing because he never wanted us fighting and stuff , but he was a bareknuckle boxing champion . He didn’t want us getting into bareknuckle game , he wanted us to just get into the ring and start  boxing “

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Gary’s family comes from a traveling background which seems to go hand in hand in boxing nowadays with stars like Billy Joe Saunders and the Fury’s being some of the biggest name in the UK boxing today . Embarrassingly boxing is not the only thing that seems to go hand in hand with the Traveling community .

“My father used to box back in his day but when he finished he opened an amateur boxing club due to discrimination because he was from a traveling background . So we opened our own boxing club and from there i won 7 ameatur titles.”

Gary was inspired to get into boxing after watching his brother’s . Going to watch them in tournaments at eight years old he decided he wanted to have a go at the sport for himself .

“I remember when i was eight years old i remember i would get hit a punch and i would just smile . Once i was in boxing i just loved it “

Like any young Sportsperson the biggest fear is injury and in 2017 Gary found that out when a back injury kept him out for most of the year , which halted the momentum he had been building .

“It was very frustrating , i have lost 13 months of boxing and the full time I’ve been watching all these fights on TV and on Youtube and i was just eating myself . I had all these injuries with my back and i broke my hand so i had to just sit back and watch all these fights . Then finally christmas was gone and i got myself a fight , and now I’m back in the swing of things ”

“I was meant to go for surgery before my last fight but the surgery didn’t take place so what they done was drain it so its still a bit sore but it’s good enough to get me back in the ring , until i can get the surgery in the summer” .

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Gary will be fighting in a six rounder on the MTK London card on March 3rd and although Gary doesn’t know who his opponents is yet , he is expecting it to be someone who will put him through his paces so he is coming over to Scotland to get some sparring with British Title challenger Stephen Simmons .

“Two weeks before my fight i will be Scotland and I’m going to get a good hard week with Simmons . You couldn’t ask for any better than that , going out and getting rounds of sparring with these guys is good for me. I am part of the MTK Global team and they have me out sparring all over the place which is just brilliant “

Fighting on this MTK London card will give Gary the opertunity of some big exposure in a small hall context due to there partnership with IFL TV who stream the cards on youtube .

“This card will be streamed again on youtube , which is brilliant . Last time they got over 140,000 viewers . To be on any sort of TV is brilliant but anybody can get this for free.

The Full Uncut Interview Click Here

We would just like to thank Gary Sweeney for taking the time out to come and have a chat with us and we are looking forward to seeing him back in the ring . For tickets to the show Saturday 3rd March 2018 Ticket hotline 07876 238286 Ticket prices Tiered seating £40 Ringside tables with waitress service £60 / £70 Doors open 4.30pm . 

Steven Donnell

Who Was Looking Out For Ohara ?

Boxing can be an unrewarding , cutthroat business where you need to get yourself noticed . For young fighters it is imperative they surround themselves with the right people , that they find a manger/advisor and promoter that know boxing inside out and have the boxers best interests at heart .Image result for ohara davies

Ohara Davies is a man who divides opinion up and down the country by playing the pantomime villain . I have followed his career since he won the English title in 2016 . He has always been someone who’s excited me in the ring but in the past couple of years as his stock has risen inside the ring we have seen him become a personality outside the ring , which has turned me off to him . Now i am not naive , it is very clear to me that Davies has been advised to play the bad man which has been a sales tactic in boxing since the sport began, a tactic that keeps you relevant and can help sell tickets to your fans and haters alike . In today’s ultra connected world where everything is instantly out there and accessible this tactic is ever more risky as its a fine line between cocky and down right offensive and in today’s overly sensitive world that is a very dangerous game to play . A few months ago he had a go at Paddy Barnes Wife which for me is disgusting and immature . Before that he was calling the people of Liverpool minimum wage peasants causing massive uproar , but all the time being rewarded with big pay days and slots on big shows , reportedly earning over £100,000 for the Josh Taylor fight , but now it has all turned a bit sour for Ohara . At the beginning of January Ohara Davies sent out a tweet which got him caught up in the murky waters of Liverpool’s city wide Anti Sun newspaper campaign , which go’s back to the newspaper lies about victims of the Hillsborough Disaster . The backlash was massive and in my opinion well over the top . We seen fellow Matchroom stars like Tony Bellew turn against Ohara, Eddie Hearn released a statement and dropped from the Matchroom “British Beef Card” in London

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Who Was Looking Out For Ohara ?

Let’s not make any excuses for Ohara Davies , he is a grown man and every man must take responsibility for his actions . There are people close to Ohara paid to guide this young mans career who should be having a good look at themselves , people like Ohara’s Manger/Advisor and former TOWIE reality show star Charlie Sims . Whilst Sims (24) was laughing along and no doubt egging Ohara on , the rest of us could see this train wreck coming . He has either advised Ohara to adopt this persona or he has failed to get Ohara to tone it down , which has now cost Ohara the chance to fight on a card in his hometown and seen him barred from Tony Sims gym , not to mention the purse money lost . I think Eddie Hearn has missed opportunities to ask this lad to tone it down . At the press conference before Davie vs Derry Mathews fight in Liverpool you could see the £££ in Eddie Hearns eyes as Ohara insulted a full city , and made the bout a grudge match . This time he’s touched on something that can damage the reputation of Hearn’s brand and that’s why Hearn had to act . Time after time Ohara Davies has been rewarded for playing close to the line of what is acceptable behaviour so to now ostracise the lad when he goes over the line seems convenient for some . Hopefully Ohara will realise he has to get people around him who are there to look after him and his interests . Can he come back from this ? , yeah i think he will but you wont see him on any cards in the North West for a while thats for sure .

Steven Donnell

DJayBoxing Award

It is that time of the year where we look back over what boxing has given to the fans over the past year and we pick our best bits and top performers of 2017 , and i must say what a year we have to choose from .

Fighter of The Year

There have been some outstanding performers this year in the ring . Vasyl Lomachenko has made guys like Nicholas Walters and Rigo quit after taking them apart physically and mentally and ending the year in most peoples P4P top 3 . Terrance Crawford is another who has had an outstanding year becoming the undisputed champion at 140lbs after stopping Julius Indongo , which seen Terrance Crawford finally get the credit he deserves from the boxing world . Another who had a stand out year was Mikey Garcia who started the year with a bang winning the WBC lightweight championship with one of the Knock Outs of the year against Dejan Zlaticanin , made more impressive with the fact that Garcia was coming back from a 2 year lay-off , then in his next fight beat Adrian Broner at light welterweight .

So who is my Fighter of the year ? Well for me it can only be one person and that’s Sor Rungvisai . At the start of of 2017 the man widely regarded as the P4P best fighter in the world was Roman Gonzalez , a four weight world champion who was 48-0 before he met Thailand’s Rungvisai . Many thought Roman would have to much for the challenger but those thoughts where soon dismissed as Rungvisai sent the champion to the canvas early on . Both men battled to the very end but the judges had seen enough to award the Rungvisai the win and give Gonzalez his first ever loss as a pro . Fast forward six months and the pair where at it again in the rematch , again most had picked Roman Gonzalez to get his revenge and again Rungvisai proved the doubters wrong , and this time in emphatic fashion . He didn’t just beat Gonzalez this time , this time he Ko’d the Nicaraguan in emphatic style . Well done Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and i for one cannot wait to see what 2018 brings for him .

Fight of The Year

In 2017 we seen some of the biggest and best fights in years being made , fights like GGG/Canelo Garcia/Thurman even the highly anticipated rematch between Ward/Kovalev but the none of them could hold a candle to my winner .

Back in April we seen Anthony Joshua face his biggest test to date when he took on Former World Champion Wladimir Klitschko infront of a sold out Wembley stadium . The Heavyweight division has not been a division renowned for classic fights in recent memory but that was all about to change . Klitschko now at 42 years old and coming off a 18 month layoff after his shock defeat to Tyson Fury had us all wondering what he had left , well we where not wondering for long . From the off we seen a more mobile Klitschko than in the Fury fight , bouncing on his toes and using the full ring . Joshua was working the jab well in the early rounds but he was being forced to work every minute of every round , something the IBF Champion wasn’t used to . Joshua sent Wlad to the canvas in the fifth as the signs looked to be there that AJ could be on the brink of putting this legend away relatively early but that wasn’t to be the case . Klitschko picked himself up and really started turning the screw on Joshua , who was looking to be feeling the pace . In the Sixth it was more of the same from Klitschko who returned the favour and sent AJ down for the first time in his pro career . The signs looked ominous for AJ who was staggering around the ring and clinging on for the next few rounds , this fight really did look to have swung right round in Wlad’s favour . Joshua did start to stem the flow and as the balance of the fight evened out again it looked as though this one would need to be decided by the judges but that wasn’t to be the case . In the eleventh Joshua had fully recovered , and timed Klitschko coming in with a fantastic upper cut which seen the Wlad go into survival mode , heaven only knows how he stayed up , but he couldn’t survive for much longer as AJ sent him down for the second time , Klitschko did get up but the ref stopped the fight not long after ……what fight …..what a win for AJ .AJ vs Klitschko

Prospect of The Year

For me this is my favourite part , picking a young fighter who has set himself apart from the rest , showing he has the potential to push on to bigger things in 2018 .

There has been one young prospect who has impressed me above all the rest and that is Edinburgh’s Jason Easton . It has been a massive year for Easton (26) with three fights , each harder than the last .The first of the trio was against a Zoltan Szabo and Jason wasted no time in dispatching the Hungarian , stopping him in the second round which is all the more impressive when you think it took Robbie Davies Jnr nine rounds to stop Szabo . Up next was Steve Jamoye for the IBO Intercontinental on the Josh Taylor/Ohara Davies undercard . After a tricky start Jason took control of the fight showing some real grit where other mentally weak boxers might have crumbled , getting his reward by stopping the tough Jamoye in the the ninth round , a win which has seen Cyclone snap up Easton . Jason Defended his IBO Intercontinental title against Josef Zahradnik of the Czech Republic. At a packed Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh the crowd went wild for Jason as he outboxed and outfoxed his opponent whilst protecting a cut above his eye . Jason showed a maturity and that lessons had been learned from the Jamoye fight . When you think of the progression and opponents Easton has took on in 2017 you have to sit back and admire him as there aren’t that many 11-0 prospects taking the kind of fights and learning the kind of lessons he’s learning , i think 2018 could see big things happen for Jason Easton . Easton vs Jamoye MUST WATCH

Trainer of The Year

Trainer of the year is a is a difficult category to judge as there is so many factors to consider across a few subjects . Last year i thought Shane McGuigan had a fantastic year and has also had a very good 2017 but with Carl Frampton losing to Leo Santa Cruz in January , i think that rules him out of this year , had Frampton won then he may well have got the nod from me . This Year a trainer who has impressed me is Derrick James .

Some might think this is a strange choice but when i look at how Errol Spence Jnr and Jarmell Charlo have progressed over the past year i cant see how anyone else comes close . Spence is a superb talent and had been progressing nicely since the olympics but when he got his shot at the IBF Welterweight World Title against Kel Brook in Sheffield , no one really knew what to expect from Spence as this was his biggest test to date but you wouldn’t have known by the way he took the very experienced Kel Brook apart forcing him to quit due a fractured orbital bone late in the fight . Also fighting under Jame’s watchful eye is WBC Light Middleweight Champion Jarmell Charlo who since hooking up with James has looked to assert himself on fights more , and really does look like a killer in the ring with superb KO wins over Charles Hately and Erickson Lubin , both absolutely superb wins .

The Rogue Anthony Joshua

The Rogue Anthony Joshua

I’m sure every man fantasises about being a multi millionaire , I’m sure we would all love to live a life of excess , travel the world , and I’m sure we have all fantasised and dwelled on the illusion that our lives would be trouble free due to our bulging bank accounts . I’m sure that as young boys we all fantasised about being a sports star, for me personally i used to dream of being a footballer , playing in the champions league in front of 60,000 adoring fans , granted i was an average when it came to talent as a young footballer but that’s the great thing about imagination , it doesn’t need any substance and it can defy the rules of reality . Today along with millions of other average Joe’s i go watch all sorts of professional sports and support guys who had the talent and watch them inspire the next generation to dream .

Antony Joshua is all of the above , he is a boxing superstar in the UK , he is a man that has came from humble beginnings to one of highest paid boxers on the planet, a man living all our dreams . A major factor in AJ’s success is the way in which he has been promoted by Eddie Hearn , Hearn has created an image of AJ that everyone can buy into and in doing so he’s created a product that big business will fall over themselves to be associated with , it really is the blueprint on how to make a superstar , but lately is there signs that this facade has started to crack ? .

A couple of weeks ago as Eddie Hearn was in New York seeing the launch of his first Matchroom show in the US when a very a out of character tweet to Tyson Fury from AJ’s verified account said ” @Tyson_Fury get fit you fat fuck” , this tweet flew into the face of the squeaky clean image that Eddie Hearn has tried so hard to project of Joshua , but what ensued next between IFL’s Kugan Cassius and Rogue AJ was actually entertaining and refreshing , have a look .

Then a week or so after this twitter exchange there was something even more bizarre and a bit more sinister to come from Rogue AJ on twitter . Eddie Chambers took to twitter claiming Joshua had sent him a tirade of abuse on twitter , and even a slight undertone of racism , again have a look .

I am the first to admit that this really doesn’t feel like AJ but for me Matchroom and Joshua’s silence has bee deafening . Eddie Hearn went on the defensive and claim it was a fake account , then 5 days later changed his story to he thinks the account has been hacked , but between these tweets Joshua had been active on his twitter posting pictures of his holiday in Dubai . Rouge Joshua has not limited to twitter , this week he took to snapchat and gave his views on Zimbabwean President/Tyrant Robert Mugabe being forced to resign due to pressure from his own people and the international community , a man who has ruled with an iron fist , using torture and greed to force his country into near starvation aswell as promoting Anti White propaganda . Here is what Rogue AJ had to say .

: “Why do they despise Robert Mugabe?” He later posted a selfie along with the caption: “Mugabe… is your view what you’ve been told?

““Or what you have learnt through research? Or what you’ve been programmed to know via media outlets?”

Now i am not one for letting a boxer influence my views on world affairs , especially not one who asked Kugan Cassius if Sri Lanka was in India , but this kind of talk is dangerous and irresponsible and if it is not the real Anthony Joshua , then Joshua and his team should be in the public eye trying to distance themselves from these image damaging comments. There is no doubt that Rogue AJ is far more interesting than the the AJ we have been spoon fed over the years but this race driven undertone doesn’t sit right with me . I do hope this is some hack but as i have eluded to , the reaction of his team does not fill me with confidence .

Steven Donnell

What We Learned About Carl Frampton- Frampton vs Garcia Review

What We Learned About Carl Frampton- Frampton vs Garcia Review

Sometimes as a boxing fan it is hard to see one of your favourites boxers start to suffer at the hands of every boxers nemesis , Father Time . We as fans find ways to justify the slide of our favourite fighters , it becomes difficult to know when your giving an honest opinion or if your just lying to yourself .On Saturday i found myself in such a position when watching Carl Frampton make his long awaited return to the ring in Belfast against Horacio Garcia .

As The Jackel made his way to the ring the atmosphere was electric as the Belfast crowd welcomed home one of there most famous sons . Across from him in the ring was a Mexican kid called Horacio Garcia who had a record of 33-3-1 but was pretty much an unknown and a massive outsider with he bookies . After 10 months out of the ring Frampton was looking for someone to give him rounds but from the off Frampton showed little signs of ring rust and after landing some massive shots in the first couple of rounds it did look like this one could be over early . After a shaky start to the fight it became apparent that Garcia had come into this fight in fantastic shape and just kept plodding away at Frampton .

Frampton had won every round going into the fifth but was starting to look a bit weary , his legs looked a little bit heavier also and with Garcia applying constant pressure there was no chance of getting a rest . As we past the halfway point Frampton had slowed considerably and Garcia was going from strength to , it must be said Garcia was in no way flashy with his work but he was consistent and was having success pulling Frampton into a scrap . The pressure was further still put on Frampton when in the seventh round a slip and well timed shot was enough to send Frampton down . There was glimpses of magic from Frampton , he was landing some fantastic shots but all to often he was getting caught against the ropes and Garcia was working the body which was taking such a toll on Frampton . Carl Frampton finally stopped the rot in the tenth and final round , where he dug deep and stood toe to toe with Garcia and got the better of him , and on my card Frampton needed the final round . Frampton walked out the clear winner on all the cards which didn’t really reflect on just how tough a fight it was…..Framptons swollen face did .

The Verdict:

This was Carl Framptons first fight since January and it did show at times , and it has to be said that the tough Horacio Garcia might not have been the best opponent to come back to depending on which way you want to look at it . The Ring Rust wasn’t what stood out to me , i thought some of Framptons shot selection, especially early on was fantastic he also looked to carry the more power of the two . What stood out to me was that Frampton really looked to be feeling the pace after four rounds and this where my dilemma lays , has time caught up with The Jackal in his extended absence ? . The jury is still out just now and I’m sure we will know better after Framptons next fight but i cant help but think that Leo Santa Cruz or Lee Selby will be licking there lips at the thought of going to Windsor Park in the summer .

Steven Donnell

Preview + Prediction~ Conlan vs Ancajas

Preview + Prediction~ Conlan vs Ancajas

Boxing is often called a gentleman’s sport , that is of course by those guys involved in the ring , for fans boxing can bring out our inner caveman . For most fans what we want to see is a bloody battle that pushes the boundaries of what punishment a human body can take ,pushing it’s limits to near exhaustion and that will be rewarded by plaudits , respect and in some cases it will take its place in history and looked upon for decades . It is often said that the Mexican style of boxing is the most entertaining , toughest and all round the best style the sport has to offer for fans . Now granted this balls to the wall style is not good for a fighters health nor his/her career longevity , for spectators tho it will give us the most memorable of fights . This weekend we will see Irelands Jamie Conlan take on Jerwin Ancajas for the IBF Superflyweight World Title

Jamie “The Mexican” Conlan

Jamie Conlan is known and loved by fans for his all action “Mexican Style” which see’s his fights usually involve multiple Knockdowns for Conlan and his opponent , with all the blood and guts to go with it . When people talk about Conlan they sometimes tend to forget that he is a skilled boxer , who has good power with very good shot selection which seems to be over shadowed by his willingness to get into a battle , which is great to watch but means you are playing with a time bomb . Just last year we seen Jamie nearly come unstuck in last years fight of the year contender against Anthony Nelson for the Commonwealth Tittle fight . As both men got tore into each other we seen the pendulum of the fight swing countless times before Conlan finally got the stoppage . Nelson like so many others found it to easy to hit Conlan at times , something you may get away with at Domestic/European level but not at world level . I have no doubt Jamie will have worked on his defence and more importantly staying disciplined for this fight , he has know exactly when to throw and more importantly when not to throw .

Jerwin Ancajas

It wasn’t to long ago Ancajas was being tipped to be the next Manny Pacquiao and although Ancajas might not have reached that elite level of the Pacman yet it does show the kind of expectation on this lads shoulders . I will admit i have only seen Ancajas twice but both times he did look very impressive . Ancajas has a variation of styles , he can switch from lethal counter puncher to a pressure fighter in the blink of an eye . I was also very impressed with how he timed opponents attacks beating them to the punch . There are times when Ancajas wildly lunges in to attacks which could be the eagerness of youth or just lack of respect for lower level opposition as each time he was never punished for leaving himself open , an invitation I’m sure Jamie Conlan will be praying comes his way .

Prediction

I have been a fan of Jamie Conlan for a long time now , i love willingness to risk everything in every fight . I love the fact that Jamie never wants to be in a dull fight but sadly i think the battler in him is going to be his downfall . Ancajas is a top quality opponent who carries power in both hands and has the quality to match . I think as Ancajas frustrates Conlan , Conlan may get desperate and leave himself far to open . For me this fight doesn’t get past the middle rounds , i think Ancajas will get the stoppage . I will say this , i have never wanted a prediction to more wrong than this one , if Jamie Conlan can somehow pull this off it will be the best title win this year for me .

Steven Donnell

Taylor vs Vazquez – Preview and Prediction

Taylor vs Vazquez – Preview and Prediction

All to often in modern boxing we are being asked to fork out more and more money for subscriptions to boxing platforms such as BT,Boxnation and sky sports as well as a growing number of PPV events on Sky box office or ITV PPV , boxing is becoming a very expensive sport to follow . This weekend will see the latest instalment of Cyclone Promotion and Channel5’s boxing adventure when one of th UKs top prospects Josh Taylor takes on Miguel Vazquez in what should be a great fight and a fantastic night of boxing available to all on freeTV .

What can we say about Josh Taylor that hasn’t already been said . Taylor had a very good ameatur career picking up a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and then took the gold when the Games came to Glasgow in 2014 . Barry McGuigan signed Josh as soon as he turned pro and is convinced that Taylor is heading for a world title , saying in September

‘I don’t want him to be waiting too long. I want to get him into a world title fight within a year.’

And after the Tartan Tornados last fight against Ohara Davies its very hard to argue with McGuigan. Taylor didn’t just outclass Davies , he broke his heart forcing the Englishman to quit . It is hard at this stage to pin point any flaws in Taylor’s style , his footwork is superb, the way in which he glides inside to land his shots and then gets out before anything can come back is fantastic to watch .Maybe you could say that against Davies , Taylor was maybe to keen to get involved in a tear up on the inside , which all the experts had warned against ……then again he took Davies to skool on the inside aswell as the outside . If we want to be hypercritical we could point to the fight in the MGM in Las Vegas where Taylor took on Mexican Alfonso Olvera . Taylor didn’t look his usual free flowing self , Olvera was having some success in spoiling , and that is what Vazquez will come to do ,it will be up to Josh Taylor to find a way to win and win with style in front of his home fans .

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Miguel Vazquez is a very experienced fighter who has shared the ring with some of the best around , with the likes of Saul Canelo Aleverez and Timothy Bradley on his CV . As a former world champion with six successful title defences to his name ,Vazquez will be coming to Scotland demanding respect and looking to cause an upset . Anybody who has seen Vazquez fight would have noticed he does not fight like a Mexican , if you haven’t seen him and are hoping to see the style of Antonio Barrera or Juan Manuel Marquez , i am afraid you are going to be disappointed . Vazquez is a very good counterpuncher who will jab and move and look to work off anything coming his way from Taylor rather than force the fight  . The Mexican uses the full ring very well , is fit and disciplined but With just the 15 KO’s from his 39 wins Vazquez doesn’t have that one punch power , and that will mean Taylor will be able to take more risks without the worry of being cleaned out .

Prdiction:

This is a fascinating matchup which could see the winner move into a great position to challenge for one of Terrance Crawford’s vacated titles . This fight does have potential to become a chess match as Vazquez will look to land single shots and disengage . The fight will be decided on how Josh Taylor closes the gap , as i have no doubt that once Taylor closes Vazquez down , he will land the bigger, better shots . I think that after a slow start Josh Taylor will work the Mexican out and open up a big lead on the cards , i cant see Taylor stopping Vazquez due to the cautious style of the Mexican but i do think after a tricky start Taylor win wide on the cards .

OUR JASON EASTON INTERVIEW

Steven Donnell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linares vs Campbell -Review

Saturday night seen Luke Campbell push Jorge Linares in a way I didn’t think he had in him. The Ex-Olympian really put in a coming of age performance and was unlucky not to bring the titles home.

Linares vs Campbell

From the start as you would expect these two started very tentatively in the first round ,bur even this early you could see the tactics Luke Campbell was going to use to try and and keep the technician Jorge Linares off him . As i said in the preview Luke Cambell has a very good jab to work off , but we could see early that Campbell was also using jab to stop Linares getting close enough to go to work.

In the second round it was a bit of more of the same Jorge looking busy , but Campbell was  doing well  to minimise Linares’s work by good movement and judging distance relatively well ……well that was right to the the off the round when a momentary lapse in Campbell’s concentration let him down . As he was backing off Linares he made the mistake of coming back in a straight line , a mistake a man like Linares will punish given the chance . Linares landed a beautiful lightning quick  combination that sent Campbell to the canvas , although Campbell didn’t look hurt it was a warning for him that mistakes like that , at this level will be punished .

For the next few rounds where much better for Campbell , but without picking up any rounds on 0n my scorecard, but instead of getting his head down after the knockdown , he done the opposite ,Campbell cut out the mistakes and really started to use his jab brilliantly, keeping Linares at bay and really frustrating him as the rounds went buy , after 6 rounds i had 5-1 Linares (plus Knockdown so 6 points up)

Going into round seven and Campbell himself really looked to be growing in confidence . Not only had Campbell stuck to his game plan but he was moving round the ring and following up the jab , landing some nice shots . Jorge Linares was looking more and more frustrated , he just couldn’t get close enough to Campbell to make anything count , and when he was getting close he was being tagged by that Campbell jab . Round eight was more of the same , Campbell was really Starting to enjoy himself in there . I said in the preview that Campbell had never really impressed me since turning pro , well on Saturday he looked like he belonged in there with the best in the division .

Round nine was a close round ,and a round where Linares had changed his tactics . Instead of going for the lightning quick combos , Linares had started landing single shits when inside then getting back out as up until that point Campbell was catching him very regularly . It was a funny round Linares clearly took the early  stages but Campbell had his moments before a decent end to the round for Linares .In round ten we could definitely see Linares’s workrate going up , but Campbell was still in there plodding away with that jab but not as much work coming behind it now. Linares was mixing it up a bit more , but still only looking to land single shots at a time .

Going into the last two rounds Jorge Linares looked to have found a second wind just as Cambell may be starting to feel the pace . Campbell had fought a very well disciplined fight but maybe he was just slowing down ever so slightly which was giving Linares the chance to get inside more regularly , but make no mistake Jorge Linares really needed to up the pace when he did . Going into the final round you could see the respect Linares had for Luke Campbell , both men met in the middle of the ring with raised smiles before going to war for one last round . In the end Campbell went out to try and fight fire with fire , and did have successes in the round but most of the the eye catching stuff came from the champion Linares .

(DjayBoxing Card 7-5 Linares + knockdown 116-113)

So to the score cards we go and after last weeks debacle I’m sure there where a lot of nervous people in that arena Victor Laghlan 113-115 Campbell……Max Deluca 114-113 Linares , Zac Young 115–112 Linares and for me the right man won , god knows where Laghlan got that card from.

Now just before i leave you guys i would like to just say a massive well done to Luke Campbell . The news broke today that his fathert had passed away a couple weeks ago , for that lad to go out there and be that focused and push a guy like Linares to the very limit just shows how strong the lad is mentally .

Steven Donnell

Linares vs Cambell – Preview and Prediction

This weekend any fan of the technical side of boxing will be in for a real treat as Jorge Linares takes on Luke Campbell for the WBA Lightweight , WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine titles in California which will be shown on Sky Sports .

Now any fan of the page will know I am a massive fan of Jorge Linares as Linares is an absolute joy to watch . His speed , quick footwork , volume of punches and power makes him one of the best offensive boxers in the sport today . Linares in his last two fights took Anthony Crolla apart , and everybody knows how tough an opponent Crolla is  . In those fights you seen what Linares does best , using his lighting quick speed and reflexes ,he took Crolla to Skool . I first became aware of Linares when he got up off the canvas to put in a fantastic performance against Kevin Mitchell ,stopping the Englishman after a slow start . As I said Linares is one of the best Offensive boxers in the world , but their are flaws in his game . Anytime we have seen Linares look unsettled and pick L’s is when things get a bit rough and dirty , its also claimed Linares is a bleeder which I don’t really agree with but what I would say is anytime he has bled he doesn’t handle it well .


Luke Campbell is a Gold Medal Olympian who had a very good amateur career , but as is so often the case with good ameaturs I feel he has struggled to utilise his skill set to become a top pro . That being said Luke Campbell is a very compitient boxer , who does move well and has a decent jab to work behind . Since Campbell lost to Mendy the hype behind  him has slowed down a bit , as Mendy took Campbell to a place he never been and Campbell did not handle it well at all . Slowly Luke Cambell has been working back from that loss which has seen Campbell earn this shot at Linares through merit , who knows maybe putting Campbell in with Linares will finally see Campbell step up and fulfil his potential .

prediction :

As you probably already know from reading the above , i can only see this going one way . Jorge Linares is just to good for Luke Cambell and come fight night it will show . I’m not saying Linares is unbeatable what I am saying is Cambell just doesn’t have the skill set to beat him . Campbell’s only hope is to drag Linares into a dog fight and anybody who knows Cambell knows that’s not the kind of fighter he is . I think Linares will stop Cambell anytime after the sixth , the way in which Cambell fights is made for Linares . My advice to anyone who hasn’t seen Jorge Linares box before is to make sure you set a reminder on your TV , it really is a joy to watch this technician at work .

Steven Donnell