DeGale vs Truax ~ Preview + Prediction

Every so often boxing will throw up a big upset and last year’s biggest upset was when Caleb Truax beat IBF Super Middleweight Champion James DeGale in a very convincing victory in what was supposed to be a relatively easy fight for DeGale . That night the 21st century got it’s very own Cindarella Man …..Well to an extent . This weekend we will see DeGale look to avenge his defeat in Las Vegas on the Lara vs Hurd undercard which will be shown live on Boxnation and BT Sport .

James DeGale 23-2-1 14Ko’s

There are some guys in boxing who go out and make things happen for themselves and James DeGale is one of those fighters . Since winning Gold at the 2008 Olympic Games DeGale was earmarked for big things in the sport whilst building a fanbase here in the UK , but that all came to a shuddering halt in 2011 when he fought George Groves and Groves beat him . After that loss though DeGale done well to rebuild himself and in 2015 he won the IBF super middleweight title on the road in Boston against Andre Dirrell . DeGale successfully defended his title against Lucian Bute and Rogelio Medina on the road again , in fights he was expected to win but we seen DeGale form a bad habit in these fights , a habit of taking a one sided fight and turning them into battles which has seen DeGale really start to slip in recent times . DeGale also fought Badu Jack in what became a classic battle in which he took some heavy and sustained punishment and if you go back and check DeGales post fight antics ( bottom of the page ) its clear to see he was acting out of character , almost insane like which suggested me he must have had a concussion , and after these previous fights where DeGale has took punishment i really think it has started to deteriorate DeGales reflexes which really showed in the first fight with Truax .

DeGale also has a poor gas tank which can cause him to take a rest on the ropes which leaves him so vulnerable . It’s not all doom and gloom for James DeGale though as i have always thought he was superbly talented fighter who looks fantastic when throwing quick combinations to the head and body and then pivoting back out of range . DeGale knows going into this fight that he is the better boxer of the two so if he boxes properly he should win .

Caleb Truax 29-3-2 18Ko’s

Now i have to admit i have seen Caleb Truax a grand total of one time , but in that one performance he did really impress me . Truax is very basic in his style but is also quite smart in how he uses the talent he does have . In the first fight Truax made DeGale look very ordinary trapping him on the ropes and going to work , even showing a bit of class when destroying DeGale with a left hook then a spin out of range which DeGale couldn’t answer the full night . I am also a big believer that once a fighter becomes a champion something changes in there mentality and they start training like a champion , they now have something to protect and that will make Caleb Truax more dangerous .

Prediction

This fight has really flown under the radar up to now , not getting any coverage which is a shame as this should be a good fight on a good card . In the last fight DeGale looked to be really struggling for most of it which some put down to DeGale rushing back from injury , but i think it is something deeper than that , i really think James DeGale is showing signs of being a shot fighter , the big question is can he muster enough up to to avenge his defeat to Truax ? . I have went back and fourth with this in my mind but the more i think about it i have a feeling Truax will retain his title . I don’t think James DeGale’s heart is still in boxing and when going to America he will be fighting a man full confidence in Truax .

I think the American will take this fight on the cards but I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if Caleb Truax stopped DeGale .

Joshua vs Parker – I Review Sky Commentary , AJ/Wilder …Oh and we Discuss the Fight

Well I’ve took a few days before sitting down to write this review of the AJ vs Parker fight thinking once i had digested it i would be able to find some positives , i thought that I would have put some sort of spin on it by now , but no matter what the sky company men have been saying or even AJ himself since the fight , it was still a very poor fight . I will struggle to keep you entertained talking about it , so i will keep the review of the fight short and sweet and maybe divulge into other aspects of what we seen like one of the worst commentary performances I’ve ever heard and maybe even take some time to clear up this whole Deontay Wilder stuff and hopefully that’s enough to keep you a reader .

Image result for AJ vs Parker — Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination but another win for AJ (pic from daily mail)

The Fight

Since Saturday there has been a spin attached to this fight which started ten minutes after the fight ended and has mothballed into something amusing but so inaccurate at the same time . Just after the fight we had Sky pundits describe how well Joshua boxed then even AJ himself called his performance a “A introduction to the sweet science ” . Now anybody that seen the fight will know this is just pure make believe and I’ve seen enough on social media the past couple of days to know that even the biggest casual fans know what they saw . There is credit to be given to AJ i had him winning 9 – 3 or 8-4 in rounds which is a clear victory against a good opponent but this suggestion of “Sweet Science” is way over the top , and even though the gameplan was the right one by McCracken to get the job done , for the most part i don’t think AJ boxed that well . AJ was happy to keep Parker at the end of his long jab which Parker didn’t have the head movement or ring craft to get past , so for that you have to give Joshua credit but there was little in the way of creativity from Joshua and even tho his jab won him the fight it got progressively worse as the fight went on as two one dimensional fighter plodded away in what was a poor mans game of chess . Another major issue in this turning out a stinker was the referee who was shocking and totally overwhelmed by the occasion . The key to the fight for Parker was him being able to get inside and work on AJ but the ref was far to eager to get in between both guys killing any chance of this one catching fire which you could see was frustrating both fighters as AJ is very good on the inside also . Then I must comment on the poor judging with two judges only giving Parker one round and the other giving him two rounds which is so disrespectful to Parker who for me won a minimum of three rounds clearly and you could add another couple of swing rounds on to that so yet again a big fight is partly killed by officials . In the end Joshua this was a clear winner but Parker can take positives from this fight , he stayed in there and fought for the full twelve rounds against AJ , something no other person has achieved so far and the AJ Hype Train keeps rolling on with now with just one more title to collect to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world .

Image result for carl froch commentary — Carl Froch trying his very best to ruin my night

Sky BoxOffice Show (commentary)

This is not something i usually comment on but i feel obliged to say something on how bad Carl Froch was as part of the Sky commentary team on Saturday night . Now usually i just turn the sound down enough that you can barely hear what’s being said but loud enough to still hear the crowd , after all what you want at home is to still capture the atmosphere and i think that is something that is being lost by most shows shown on the TV as they continually speak all the way though the show but on this occasion i watched it in a friends house so we had to listen to the ramblings of cliche driven mad man . It is obvious that TV commentary teams nowadays have been instructed to have no free air , no prolonged periods of silence , no time to let fans sit and enjoy the fight , which would be fine but it encourages complete drivel to be spoken which if anything distracts you from the fight . Froch was a world class boxer but he is not a fan of boxing and his knowledge of fighters and division is little to none and egged on by Adam Smith , Froch continually makes a fool of himself and it really does make for painful listening . This week we will be putting another classic fight on Casual’s Corner so listen out for how less is more when it comes to boxing commentary . Casual’s Corner

AJ/Wilder

To top off Saturday’s show we finished up with Eddie Hearn pushing this narrative that because Wilder didn’t come over to the UK for the fight he doesn’t want to fight AJ ….What a load of nonsense . Deontay Wilder was booked to come over right up to ten days before the fight when Hearn announced that Wilder would NOT be allowed in the ring to call out AJ , a tried and tested stunt which is proven to drum up interest in a fight After hearing he wasn’t allowed to enter the ring Wilder read what was on the wall , he was going to be hijacked by Dillian Whyte who Hearn is now selling as a gatekeeper to AJ . Hearn jumped in the ring and started insulting Wilder right away about ticket sales etc , he’s spent the past four weeks insulting Wilder’s manager because they dared to expose the emails between both camps showing that Eddie doesn’t want to make AJ vs Wilder . Whilst Eddie Hearn was was mid rant post fight i couldn’t help but think , I’ve watched Wilder/Ortiz five times i don’t think i will ever rematch AJ’s last two fights . Lou Di Bella says it best in a fantastic interview with FightTalk.Net .

( Follow the fight talk guys on twitter @Sam_OReilly1 @craigscott209 @Fight_Talk1 )

Joshua vs Parker – Preview + Prediction

Five years ago i predicted that the heavyweight division was coming into another Golden Era after years of mediocrity , and i predicted this due to the likes of Tyson Fury , Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker all coming of age and with the likes of Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin already around the top of the division the future looked bright , but it hasn’t panned out that way . Tyson Fury had a brief stint at the the top of the division when he beat Wladimir Klitschko but then served a ban due to drugs and had retired from the sport , Povetkin is another who had failed a drug test and since his return to the ring hasn’t looked the same fighter so now there are three and this weekend we will see two of them go toe to toe on Saturday night when Anthony Joshua takes Joseph Parker of New Zealand .

Anthony Joshua 20-0-0 20Ko’s

This weekend the AJ hype train will again roll up in Cardiff as Anthony Joshua looks to get his hands on another World Title to go along with his IBF and WBA straps when he fights Parker for his WBO title on his way to being king of the heavyweights . Over the years the hype that has been built up around Joshua has been like nothing ever seen before in this country which has even swept up the most cynical of us at times , and now building up to one of AJ’s biggest fights we must strip back the all hype and separate the man from the myth when trying to break this fight down . There is no doubt Joshua’s main asset is his power and shot selection , which even after all this time watching the big Englishman still has the ability to shock . We seen a great example of both assets when AJ took on Wladimir Klitschko last year when Joshua caught Wlad with a superb uppercut which nobody saw coming , not even the legendary Klitschko and although that wasn’t the Knockout punch it was the punch that won fight .

Countless times we have seen AJ pull a variety of power shots out of the bag to the expense of opponents like Dillian Whyte and Carlos Takam . For all AJ’s power and shot selection impress there is no getting away from Joshua’s biggest flaw ….his gas tank . We have seen AJ gas out after four rounds against 42 year old Klitschko who showed the world the blueprint to beating AJ is with movement and agility and had Wlad not been so old or inactive i firmly believe Joshua would have picked up his first loss . There has been a lot of talk coming out of AJ’s camp that they are looking to come in light for this fight which would suggest they have been working on his stamina , but is it enough to last twelve rounds ? …..I’m not so sure .

Joseph Parker 24-0-0 18Ko’s

Around 18 month’s ago i wrote a scathing review for the Boxing Asylum on Joseph Parker when he took on Andy Ruiz Jnr in a fight he won narrowly won on the cards . After being high on Parker for a while i had seen him gradually lose all the qualities that made him a top prospect not to mention he looked to be coming in far to heavy . Since then i have found out i may have been a bit harsh on Parker as he was struggling with injuries on his shoulders and elbows at the time , which has since been operated on and i have to admit Joseph Parker is coming into this weekends fight in the best shape i have ever seen him . The best tool in Parkers locker is his lightening quick hands which he will need to use to full affect this weekend . Seeing Parker coming in so light for this fight means he is coming to be mobile , which isn’t really his style but if he does it right he might just be able to pull it off . Joseph Parker can be very one dimensional and has a habit of getting lazy the longer a fight goes on which could be his undoing against AJ .

Prediction

If you would have asked me two months ago who was going to win this fight i would have told you AJ would win easily , but seeing Joseph Parker this week it really does look as if he means business . The talk from Team AJ is that they have been preparing for a twelve rounder and i really hope he has been as i can see Parker employing a hit and run tactic which would kill the engine of Joshua . So who is my pick for this weekend ? ….Well i am going to stick with my original pick of Anthony Joshua but rather than predict it will be a 4 round demolition , now i am going to say a 9th round KO in a game of chess type of fight . I think Parker will implement his gameplan early but he will get careless at some point and that’s when Joshua will pounce .

Anthony Joshua 9th round KO

Great Whyte Attack on Saturday Night

Dillian Whyte has always been a boxer i felt was playing at boxing , someone who has been able to talk himself into big fights and make good money along the way , but on Saturday night we seen an in shape Dillian Whyte using good boxing skills and ring smarts to destroy Lucas Browne and record his best win to date . Before the fight i said Lucas Browne would need to bring his very best game to beat Whyte but after years of inactivity Browne looked far to heavy alongside the well toned Whyte as they squared up at the opening bell .

Right from the opening bell Whyte knew exactly how he was going to beat Browne , by breaking him down with the jab and choosing his times when to follow the jab with big left hands shots over the top . Browne finished the first round with a cut just above his left eye which Whyte used as the bull’s eye on a target and my god he couldn’t miss . Browne was just far to slow in the ring , every time he tried to land something Whyte was catching him a big counter and from as early as the second the writing was on the wall for Lucas Browne .In our preview i pointed out Browne has a habit of throwing punches from the hip and it is a habit the big Australian hasn’t remedied and Whyte was punishing him for it time and time again . Whyte looked agile , quick handed and surprisingly light on his feet in stark contrast to Browne who looked slow ,heavy , laboured and after 3 rounds he was a bloodied mess . It was obvious that after 4 round Browne was fighting with one eye due to the amount blood pouring into his left eye and he was taking a beating and even this early in the fight i was starting to think that Browne’s corner should be thinking of pulling there man out of there . Dillian Whyte could not miss Browne and in the fifth i think myself and most people watching were expecting that towel to fly in at any second but it never came , bravery or foolery from Browne’s corner but there man paid the price early in the sixth when Whyte landed a massive left hook which sent Browne’s lifeless body flat out on the canvas and it took around 5 minutes to get Browne up and away to Hospital but thankfully Lucas Browne is going home to his family in one peice .

Dillian Whyte had fought a fantastic fight , easily a career best for the big Londoner and what a time to do it with HBO beaming the fight in the US . What’s next for Whyte ? The nosies coming from Eddie Hearn is that they want the Deontay Wilder fight which i don’t think Dillian Whyte is ready for . I personally would like to see Whyte fight Big Baby Miller and if he performs at the level he did against Browne on Saturday night i might even back him .

Ramirez wins WBC Title , Now 140lbs Need’s A WBSS

Over the past few weeks the super lightweight division has jumped into action and we are a step closer to having a bit of clarity . Three weeks ago Josh Taylor kept his star rising with the KO of Winston Campos to retain his WBC Silver Title and that followed by Regis Prograis Ko victory over Julius Indongo for the WBC Interim Tilte , followed by Mikey Garcia’s points win over Sergy Lipiniets to claim the IBF title at the weight in a great fight . On Saturday night we were treated to another great fight for the WBC Vavant Super Lightweight title between Jose Ramirez and Amir Imam . (YOU CAN WATCH RAMIREZ VS IMAM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

) Image result for jose ramirez iman boxing

There was a cry a few weeks ago that it should have been Indongo/Prograis that fought for the proper title but that fight turned out to be a damp squib which was over in two rounds , this fight on the other hand was packed with some superb action from both men . From the off Imam showed he was more than capable of making this a fight by working off his jab and using lateral movement to frustrate Ramirez but like all top class fighters Ramirez soon made the changes to take the initiative early on . After a fairly quiet opening round Ramirez lifted the pace right from the start of the second round putting Imam under immense pressure .When Ramirez closes the gap he is superb to watch and no wonder he’s becoming a fan favourite with this high intensity style of his , which we can see over Ramirez last couple fights he is starting to look a bit more cultured throwing feints whilst inside to open up the body . Ramirez looked to be systematically breaking Imam down until about round eight when Imam made a change of his own when he decided to throw with Ramirez and had some success . In the end Ramirez survived the little comeback by Imam and ran out a deserved clear winner on the cards 117-111 , 115-113 and 120-108 in which was another brilliant performance by Ramirez , a man who impresses me everytime i watch him . Image result for jose ramirez title boxing

Ever since the undisputed champion Terrence Crawford vacated all the belts at 140lbs it has been a bit of a mess but now we are starting to see some clarity in the division . All of a sudden there seems to be so much talent in the 140lbs division with a top 5 all capable of being king of the division and a few more right on the fringes of top level and this has us fans now wanting a World Boxing Super Series format at the division to make all the best fight . Right now at 140lbs there is only one star which is Mikey Garcia (IBF Champion) so it should be within WBSS budget to get all the best in the division to sign , a lot more realistic than the idea of the Light Heavyweight tournament . The WBSS Cruiserweight Tournament has given fans a hunger and desire to see the best put it all on the line in a sink or swim format and if ever a division was ready for it , it is the super lightweight division .

Casual’s Corner – Pacquiao vs Marquez 4

Every so often in boxing you get an era defining rivalry and there are few better in the history of the sport than Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez . Here we are going to look at the fourth and final meeting between the two men , after the previous three bouts ended in controversy with the first being called a draw and next two going the way of Pacquiao by the siltiest of margins , but no matter what the judges said there was nothing to split these two .

Before this fight there was a lot of bad blood between the two fighters as Marquez thought he had won all three of the previous fights , and there are many who would agree . Manny Pacquiao had claimed before this fourth meeting he was going to KO Marquez to remove any doubt who was the better fighter . Due to the controversy in all the previous fights Nevada Boxing commission brought in two neutral judges for this bought but they wouldn’t be needed due to one of the best KO’s you will ever see . Both men were certainly past there best by the time this fourth fight came around but even these depleted older versions were still two of the best in the welterweight division .

Things to watch for

Look at how Marquez looks to land powerful left hands on Pacquiao’s body from the opening bell to slow the Pacman down . Pacquiao looks very sharp attacking early with some fantastic feints but watch out for the body shot in the third round which throws Pacquiao off his rythm , great punch which changed the full round .

12-08-2012 HBO PPV Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez 4 from music-world-tour.com on Vimeo.

There Is No Such Thing As Superhuman’s , Only Super-Doping Programmes

This week has been a damming week for sport but not to much of a surprise for a born again pessimist like myself . Earlier this week the UK Government published it’s report into doping and it indicated some of the biggest names in UK sport are suspected of being cheats . The Parliamentary Digital , culture , media and sport select committee came to the damming conclusion that Team Sky (Cycling Team) cynically abused the anti doping system and allowed its athletes to take PED’s , it also claims there is a strong possibility that Sir Bradley Wiggans was also on PED’s in his time with Team Sky . It doesn’t feel to long ago since the fairytale story of Lance Armstrong was proved to be just that …A fairytale .

It was announced this week that superstar boxer Canelo Alvarez test sample came back with trace amounts of clenbuterol , a banned substance . The weirdest thing about this story was that VADA and WBA had verified and accepted Canelo’s story of ” Contaminated Meat ” right away and took the harsh stance of making Canelo finish his training camp in the US (did you sense the sarcasm) . Now i do accept that Canelo may well have ate contaminated meat as it is a confirmed epidemic in Mexico with sportsmen failing tests in every sport including Mexicos U17 football team . Surly if there is a history of contaminated meat in Mexico that makes Canelo and his team more responsible for making sure he is eating the best organic meat around , even import it like Deontay Wilder had done when getting ready to fight Alexander Povetkin in Russia , ironically a fight that was cancelled due to Povetkin failing a drug test . Canelo’s sample came back with 0.8 and 0.6 trace amounts of clenbuterol in his system which doesn’t sound a lot but when you think a cyclist received a two year ban for having 0.5 in his system it really doesn’t look good for boxing .

Also this week we seen Former Olympian Tony Yoka receive a one year suspended ban for missing multiple drug teats . When i read this i have to admit i felt a little dejected , what is the point in that ban . I have yet to see one athlete that has been caught doping that holds there hands up and admits it , there is always some excuse which deflects blame and even makes them the victims . Tony Yoka missing a drug test has to be an admission of guilt the same way that Rio Ferdinand got a lengthy ban from the FA for missing a test whilst playing for Manchester Utd , Yoka needed to get lengthy ban . Another thing that doesn’t sit right with me is on Saturday night we seen Luis Ortiz fight for the WBC Heavyweight title a few months after failing a drug test by testing positive for a drug known to mask doping , of course Ortiz claimed it was medication for high blood pressure that he forgot to declare to testers . This case got even more bizarre when the WBA stripped Ortiz of his title and gave him a ban but the WBC said he didn’t have a case to answer ….very strange .

There are some fans out there who still believe in “Superhumans” people who will take away from the MPs investigation by saying ” who would Trust an MP ” and then there is those who say “clenbuterol isn’t even a steroid ‘ neglecting to acknowledge its on the banned list , those who say ” Ortiz has High Blood Pressure ” and dont care that he never declared he was on medication on the banned list , something all pro athletes MUST DO . If you are one of these people this is something you should take onboard , There is no such thing as a Superhuman there are only Super Doping Programmes .

The Cyclone Promotions Show Review : Taylor vs Campos

This weekend i went to the “Scotlands Finest” card promoted by Cyclone in Glasgow , a card where the main event had been changed as Josh Taylor’s original opponent Humberto Soto pulled out due to a cut picked up in training and was replaced by Winston Campos . From the off I wasn’t to excited by the main event , i thought Soto might have gave Taylor some rounds but there would only be one winner so when Campos stepped in at short notice i was far from excited . There was of course a good strong undercard of Scottish talent which for me was smart promoting from Cyclone and ultimately saved the show .

Jason Easton vs Glenn Foot (Fight Rating 8/10)

Before this fight i had predicted this would be fight of the night and i wasn’t wrong . Right from the off this fight caught fire both men willing to trade . I thought before this fight that with Easton being the bigger of the two he would come in and look to keep Foot at bay with the jab but it became clear that would not be the case . Foot had Easton on the floor in the second as the Edinburgh man struggled to keep Foot off of him . Easton done well to recover and get back in the fight , both men landing big shots but you always felt Foot was just always getting the better of the exchanges . Foot did look to be tiring toward coming up to the stretch but it was also clear to see Jason Easton was feeling the pace . Easton came close to sending Foot to the canvas in the tenth round but Foot done well to survive . Into the Eleventh it was clear to see that both men were feeling the pace , but it was Foot who managed to find that bit extra to finish the fight . All night Foot couldn’t miss when throwing over the top of Easton’s jab and to be honest Easton deserves so much credit for staying in there as long as he did but the straw that broke the camels back came when Foot had Easton got Jason the ropes and started to unload . The Edinburgh man tried in vein to get up only to collapse back to the canvas , which did have me worried watching on as this fight was brutal at times .

This was great fight to watch , all action from start to finish and yes the right man won . Glenn Foot went into the ring as underdog and showed why he must be taken seriously after a career best performance and really impressed as for Jason Easton he has to look at this L as a good thing . Maybe Easton has been pushed on a little to quickly and need’s to step back down a level and perfect his boxing skills . There is no doubt Easton is a talented kid but with mastered fundamentals like a good jab to keep opponents on the outside and a tight guard he will have all the ingredients to come back and beat Foot .

Charlie Flynn vs Ryan Collins (Fight Rating 4/10)

This fight had built up so much excitement in the build up as the last time both men met it went down as a technical draw due to cuts caused by a clash of heads . Both fighters had brought in a decent amount of fans the atmosphere was superb for this one . From the opening bell Flynn looked to have stepped up a level since the last time i seen him , with his quick hands and pressure tactics he was using he was making Collins look out of his depth . That showed when before the first round had ended Collins was down on the floor after Flynn had timers him coming in and landed a beautiful combination square on his chin . Flynn looked in no mood to be messing around which seen Collins looked to hold on whenever he could . This fight looked to be one winner when a cruel twist of fate took victory away from Flynn . In the fourth round Collins was having a little bit more success but all the best work was coming from Flynn then it happened , it was like a De Ja Vu moment when both heads came together opening up cuts on both men , the worst of the cuts being right above Charlie Flynn’s eye . The referee had no choice but to call a halt to proceedings which meant the fight ended n a technical draw , which meant you had to feel sorry for Flynn who was cruising .

This is the second time this fight has needed in this way but after seeing that i dont know if i would like to see part three . Colin’s looked out of his depth at times but you have to give him credit for the way he survived in there for a very tough four rounds for him . This is the fourth time i have seen Charlie Flynn and this was by far the best version of him i have seen . I don’t think there is much point in Flynn hanging around to fight Collins a third time , he is ready to push on a level .

Josh Taylor vs Winston Campos (6/10)

As i said at the start i wasn’t to excited by this fight as i knew it wasn’t going to last long . Josh Taylor is one of the best body punchers in boxing today and from the off Campos found out why . Compose did try to trade but that just played into Taylor’s hands letting the Scotsman go to work on him at will everytime he threw a punch . It was clear from early on that Campos didn’t have an answer anytime Taylor came inside landing big hooks throughout the first round . Taylor really came out and showed his class in the second round landing superb shots to the head and body . Campos can feel aggrieved when Taylor put Campos down it looked to be a punch on the back of the head but there was no question about the second knockdown after Taylor landed a lovely left hand . This fight was all but finished going into the third and after a bit of a bizarre knock down when campos went down due to Taylor’s footwork rather than a punch and that was enough for Victor Laughlin who called the fight off and rightly as Campos was well out of his league .

Josh Taylor really is a pleasure to watch but this guy need to be pushed on , he is at world level so he need to fight world level oponents . This weekend Regis Prograis will fight Indongo for the WBC Intrim title and when i spoke to Prograis he was open to a fight with Taylor , hopefully this will be the level opponent Taylor will be fighting by the end of the year .

Overall show rating (6/10)

First of all i would like to acknowledge the SSE Hydro security who were a match for any airport security in the world ,m even searching wallets for drugs which i thought was superb , also any trouble i did see they had it under control within a minute . There was a strange atmosphere in the arena that felt like it could ignite at any moment . It seems the boozed up , coked up element is here to stay then throw into the mix there was fans from across Scotland which can create “clan mentality” but overall the crowd were well behaved . The SSE Hydro is a fantastic arena for boxing and i would recommend attending a show there to anyone , it is one of my favourite venues .

Iain Trotter ” I Want To Be The Best “

About seven month’s ago i was waiting to interview Tommy Philiben as he got ready to fight for the celtic title . Before he was ready for the interview he was sparring Iain Trotter ( Middleweight) . As i watched on i was very impressed with Iain’s strength and how he turned Tommy in the ring , which made for a fantastic watch as these two lads put on a good show . After the session had ended i turned to Billy Nelson (Iain’s trainer)and told him i was really impressed with Iain to which he replied ” Next Year you will see Iain make big strides in the sport ” .This weekend Iain Trotter will look to reach the first milestone in his professional career when he takes on Marc Kerr for the Scottish title in only his seventh pro fight at a packed out SSE Hydro . I caught up with Iain as his training camp is coming to an end .

Q. With this being your first title fight is there anything your doing different to prepare ?

Iain . Not really to be honest , the fight is more rounds so thing are more intense in training camp and we are doing more rounds in sparring more regularly .

Q. With this fight being a ten rounder have you been working on pacing your gas tank ?

Iain . Yeah this a step up from four rounds for me but this was to big an opportunity to turn down . From day one in Billy’s (Nelson) Gym Billy told me i am not going to be a four a round fighter , that we were striving to be the best . So from the get go I’ve been working toward this anyway .

Q. This is going to be the second massive show you have been part in , does that bring any added pressure ?

Iain . No if anything its something more to look forward to . The last show in Edinburgh I couldn’t believe it , i was the floater and got on right before Josh ( Taylor ) so the place was packed which has stood me in good stead . Once you get in the ring it’s just you and the other man that’s there .

Q. That must be a skill in itself to be able to block out the crowd .

Iain. Well i had a good amateur career with 50 fights so I’ve done it for long enough to know what to expect and how to shut it out and just focus on getting the win .

Q. This could be your first milestone picking up your first title , are you ready for the added pressure that come with that ?

Iain . This is why i am in the sport . It is going to be my first milestone and one of many . I am always in the Gym and i am always ready I’ve already took fights on short notice in my short pro career .

Q Are you ready to become a target for people ?

Iain . 100% i want to be the best so that means fighting the best .

I would like to thank Iain Trotter for his time and we wish him the best of luck come fight night . Scotlands finest Card in Glasgow will take place this weekend but there is still time to get Tickets , Contact Iain on twitter @IainTrotterBox or Billy Nelson on twitter @BillyNelsonBox .

Full Interview

djayboxing

"Boxing At Every Level"

Tag: Boxing