Photo Gallery: John O'Donnell vs Tom Glover

This past Saturday night's ITV4 main-event featured rising young London fighter John O'Donnell (pictured right) battling it out against Britian's Cinderalla man, Tom Glover.

Photographer Justin McKie was ringside at the Waftord Colloseum to capture all the action from the welterweight contest.

John O'Donnell vs Tom Glover

Photos © Justin McKie - Click on the images to enlarge. Trainer Rob McCracken offers some final instructions for Commonwealth welterweight champion John O'Donnell before the young welterweight heads to the ring. O'Donnell captured the title in his last outing, edging Craig Watson over 12 hard fought rounds. In the other dressing room, upset specialist Tom Glover prepares for his toughest task to date. Despite bringing a 4 match winning streak into the contest, the Maldon bricklayer enters as a sizable underdog. Glover brings a record of 9-5-3 into the contest, while O'Donnell enters with a flashy 21-1 mark. Glover came out pushing the action, but it was O'Donnell that had the edge early on. The London fighter used a sharp right jab, while mixing his attack up nicely with some body work. Already fighting an uphill battle, Glover's chances took a major hit when he suffered a broken nose in the 3rd round. A hard left uppercut that split Glover's guard appeared to do the damage. O'Donnell kept the heat on his injured opponent, while making sure not to forget going downstairs. Despite the broken nose, Glover doggedly pressed forward and found the mark on his taller foe with his share of shots, but it was always O'Donnell landing the heavier blows. By this stage it was clear the fight would not go the distance, but the game underdog from Maldon wasn't quite done yet. Here he lands a left hand during a good exchange that nearly dislodges O'Donnell's gum shield. O'Donnell catches Glover with a right hand as referee Richie Davies looks on. Sensing his opponent was ready for the taking, the lanky London fighter turned it up a notch, forcing Davies to call a halt to the action at 2:43 of round 6. The classy Glover applauds as O'Donnell has his hand raised in victory.

O'Donnell and promoter Mick Hennessy talk with ITV's Jim Rosenthal about the fight and future prospects. Up next is a mandatory title defense against Ghanaian Philip Kotey, and possibly a British title challenge soon after. Finally it's back to the dressing room where McCracken removes the fighter's blood stained hand wraps.

Bonus pre-fight video of O'Donnell warming up courtesy of Justin McKie.


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British Scene: O'Donnell Ends Glover's Upset Streak

Matt Chudley recaps Saturday's welterweight match-up between John O'Donnell and Tom Glover.

Photos © Justin McKie

Thoroughly out of his depth, Tom Glover was halted in the 6th round after taking heavy punishment from John O'Donnell and offering little in return this past Saturday at the Watford Coliseum.

Although scheduled as O'Donnell’s first defence of the Commonwealth title he claimed from Craig Watson, the belt was not at stake as the Commonwealth Boxing Council failed to rubber stamp the contest. Without the necessary formalities completed the fights still went ahead as a 12 rounder although a 1lb concession was made on the welterweight limit.

Giving up 5 inches in height and conceding significant speed and reach advantages it was clear that Glover was really up against it this time, but in his customary style, the plucky brick layer from Essex gamely tried to work his way inside. The man from West London was too sharp however, and took full advantage of his size and speed advantage, consistently employing the jab that had gone missing last time out against Craig Watson.

After a relatively patient first round O'Donnell began to find his range in the second, catching Glover with flashy combos and showing off his impressive hand-speed. Glover did have his moments in the opening rounds, connecting with a few right hands but with no stoppages to his credit and very limited power he failed to really gain O'Donnell’s respect.

It soon became an impossible task for Glover after his nose was broken during the second round. A sharp left uppercut from the Irish born southpaw that split the gloves seemed to do the damage. Reliant upon his stamina and gritty determination, Glover was no longer able to breathe through his nose and plodded forward with his mouth hanging open.

The blood began to flow steadily in the 3rd after O'Donnell targeted the broken nose with a onslaught of straight lefts and also began to set his feet more and put more into his punches.

O'Donnell seemed to take a breather in the 4th, possibly in an attempt to ensure he didn't punch himself out given Glover's durability and record of never having been stopped. Now masked in blood, the body shots and right hooks where still there for Glover but the more hurtful attacks where still coming from the Londoner.

The 5th and 6th rounds saw the fight continue to follow a predictable path, with Glover at the mercy of O'Donnell's speedy offense and not seeming able to worry O'Donnell in return. With Glover becoming more disorganised and his hands gradually coming down, Richie Davies took a strong interest in the 6th round, and compasionately called it off after a barrage of unanswered punches left Glover reeling on the ropes.

With the win, his 10th inside the distance, O’Donnell moves to 22-1 and will next face mandatory challenger Philip Kotey from Ghana, likely in December. Having sustained the broken nose, Glover's English title challenger planned for next month seems unlikely and he also expressed a desire to move down to light-welterweight.

On the under-card…

The main support saw Lee Purdy get revenge over Peter McDonagh following a decision loss back at the end of last year. While a reasonably entertaining fight it didn't quite reach the same heights as their previous encounter and a better versed Purdy proved too strong at welterweight, winning by a score of 98-94 on referee Jeff Hinds' card. McDonagh plans to head back down to his natural confines of 135-140.

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British Scene: John O'Donnell vs Tom Glover Preview

Matt Chudley previews this Saturday's ITV4 Hennessy Sports show.

Photos © Justin McKie

ITV4's first live action of the season sees Commonwealth welterweight champion John O'Donnell defending his title against perennial outsider and upset specialist Tom Glover.

The TV date had originally been set aside for North London's brightest star, Darren Barker and his much anticipated showdown with Matthew Macklin but Macklin decided to go in another direction after the EBU came calling with an opportunity to fight for the vacant European title. With a lack of suitable opponents available for Barker and the ever game brickie Tom Glover fresh off a big win over former European lightweight champ Jon Thaxton, O'Donnell-Glover was a natural replacement to headline the card.

Guided by Robert McCracken, former middleweight world title challenger and trainer of Carl Froch, O'Donnell has begun to regain the form that saw him once touted as one of the UK's finest prospects. The slick West London based fighter last outing saw him headlining a televised card for the first time, and he came through with a gritty effort in narrowly outpointed Craig Watson for the Commonwealth title. While many punters and the judges themselves couldn't agree who deserved the nod, all where in agreement that they had witnessed one of top domestic fights of the year to date.

This time out, up against more limited opposition the onus will be on O'Donnell to impress and prove that he belongs amongst the elite of the current crop of talented British Welterweights. As Kell Brook is taking on Michael Jennings in a domestic super-fight later this autumn, a poor showing could see O'Donnell slip under the radar.

Starting out his career with an unimpressive 5-5-3 record, Essex bricklayer Tom Glover (pictured below after topping Jon Thaxton) has since upset the apple-cart in his previous four fights in the role of 'opponent'. Noted for his good conditioning, durability and lack of power, Glover was viewed by many as a decent test to ease more established fighters who where rebounding from losses back into a decent level of competition.

The man from Maldon though, turned in gritty performances to outwork Scott Woolford (8-2), Chas Symonds (14-2) and the aforementioned Thaxton (34-9) all by one point on the referees score cards. Along the way he also overcame the 22-1 Nadeem Siddique via a DQ for low blows and had earned the right to challenge Adnan Amar for the English title before this opportunity presented itself.

If his career to date is anything to go by, Glover will undoubtedly turn out to fight Amar in a months time should he come through this weekends fight unscathed yet unsuccessful.

Given that Glover had a significant size advantage over Thaxton, O'Donnell clearly presents Glover with his toughest proposition to date and with Glover's proven lack of firepower and O'Donnell's previous display over 12 rounds, its hard to make a case for Glover being able to out hustle the much more skilled fighter.

The main support is a rematch between Lee Purdy and Peter McDonagh, after their exciting 10 rounder last December in which McDonagh truimphed over 10 rounds for the Southern Area 140lb title. This time around they will clash at 147lbs for the welterweight version of the same title which was relinquished by Glover. Purdy, the younger fighter at only 22, was favoured prior to their previous fight will likely be more suited to the higher weight. He has fought above 140lbs in 4 of his 5 last fights, while McDonagh has spent much of his career as a lightweight.

Filling out the undercard are the Brendan Ingle trained duo of Abdul Barry Awad and Richard Towers (2-0) and also light middleweight prospect Steve O'Meara (9-0). Making his pro debut and known as 'Kid Galahad" Adbul Barry Awad will undoubtedly face tough comparisons to Naseem Hamed since he is of Yemeni descent, fighting out of Sheffield and a bantamweight trained by Hamed's former coach Ingle.

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The Boxing Bulletin Pick'em Game - Week 1

The Boxing Bulletin's Pick'em game has arrived.

Our game is a little different than most of the variations we've seen online, as it's a combination of picking the winners straight-up and beating the odds. If you're ready to match your prognostication skills against other boxing fans, then let's get started...

How to play:

The game is strictly for fun, and entry is free. The deadline to enter this week is Thursday night at 11 PM EST. We'll post the pick breakdown on Friday, and have the results tabulated and online by Sunday night.

Pick The Winners

This part's easy - 2 points for each correct answer.

Beat The Odds

This is where it gets a little more involved. You will have the option of choosing 1 fight to risk double points, and 1 fight to risk triple points. Points gained (and lost) will be multiplied by two and three times respectively for these fights.

You do not need to risk points on every fight. If you wish to skip a fight, just check "pass" for both fighters.

Standings

We will keep standings for the full year, although each game will only last for 1 month. At the end of the month standings will be reset and a new game will begin.

We've got a few details below on the fights in play this week, but if you're ready to get started, here's the Week 1 game sheet.

This Week's Line-up - clicking on the fighter's name will open up their boxrec page September 4 John Simpson vs Paul Truscott - Commonwealth featherweight title - Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, United Kingdom (Television: Sky, UK) These two featherweights fought back in January, with Simpson coming away with an 8th round "stoppage" win. It went in the books as a TKO, but it was an accidental clash of heads that lead to the bout being called (the correct ruling under British rules). Simpson was coming on strong at the time, and enters Friday's rematch as the favorite. Jose Lopez vs Marvin Sonsona - WBO super-flyweight title - Rama, Ontario, Canada (Television, TSN, Canada) This will be a huge jump in class for the 19 year old Sonsona who's fought a grand total of 38 professional rounds. Is he ready for it? Here's the Filipino phenom's one punch knock-out win over Wandee Singwnacha this past May. The 37 year old Lopez is 15-0-1 since dropping a 12 round decision to Fernando Montiel back in 2001. September 5 John O'Donnell (21-1-0) vs Tom Glover (9-5-3) - 12 rounds - Commonwealth welterweight title & Lee Purdy (11-1) vs Peter McDonagh (14-14) - 10 rounds - Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom (Television: ITV4, UK) O'Donnell enters the main event as a big favorite, but Glover has put together an unlikely string of upsets, including a win over former European lightweight champion Jon Thaxton last time out. Purdy's only defeat as a pro... a 10 round points loss to McDonagh last December. Luis Concepcion vs Omar Solado (12 rounds) - interim WBA flyweight title - Panama City, Panama Solado was stopped last year in a WBC eliminator by Julio Cesar Miranda. After a couple of wins, he's getting another crack at a strap but will have to travel to Concepcion's hometown for the opportunity. Concepcion's lone defeat game in his 4th pro fight and since then has rolled off 18 straight victories. Here's the video from his latest fight (it's a short one): click For a short previews of Simpson vs Truscott and O'Donnell vs Glover, check out Part 1 of our UK Season preview by Dave Oakes.

If you're ready to play, click here for the week 1 game sheet.
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British Scene Season Preview Part One; Simpson vs Truscott, O'Donnell vs Glover, Davis vs Napa, Fury vs McDermott & Olusegun vs Daws

The new British boxing season is just about ready to get underway and over the next couple days Dave Oakes will be previewing what we have to look forward to in September and October.

In today's preview:

John Simpson vs Paul Truscott - Commonwealth featherweight title

John O'Donnell vs Tom Glover - Commonwealth welterweight title

Gary Davis vs Ian Napa - British bantamweight title

Tyson Fury (Photo © Justin McKie) vs John McDermott - English heavyweight title

Ajose Olusegun vs Lenny Daws - British light-welterweight title

It’s at times like this when all British based boxing fans are starting to get withdrawal symptoms. It’s been nearly a month since the last boxing card that contained a title fight, and a month is a long time for any boxing addict. So, with the inevitable feeling of melancholy descending upon me, I decided to raise my spirits by taking a brief look at what we can look forward to when the new season starts in September.

Simpson vs Truscott

First up is the rematch between Commonwealth featherweight champion John Simpson and former champion Paul Truscott on September 4th. Simpson stopped Truscott in the 8th round of their first meeting after a clash of heads opened up a nasty gash above the then champion’s right eye. Simpson was clearly ahead on the cards at the time but Truscott believes there’s unfinished business to be taken care of.

Simpson’s speed surprised Truscott last time out, Truscott thought he could dance rings around Simpson but found that the experienced Scotsman was no slouch in closing the distance between them. If Truscott has learnt from their first fight, and can make the necessary adjustments, he can make it a much closer battle.

O'Donnell vs Glover

In the days of protected fighters with padded undefeated records, it’s good to see a fighter like John O’Donnell proving that a defeat can be a positive rather than a negative.

O’Donnell was a much touted prospect in the early part of his career and was looking the part until bumping into one Christian Solano on a hot night in Vegas in May of 2007. O’Donnell, eager to impress on his U.S debut, was caught cold and went down heavily after a short left hook landed around his temple midway through the first round, he managed to get to his feet but never seemed to recover.

His corner waved the fight off in the second round after he was dropped heavily by another hook, he’d managed to get to his feet again but his legs were still shaky and it was a sensible decision by his trainer Robert McCracken to stop the fight.

Such a devastating defeat proved hard for the likable Londoner to take, he took an extended break before eventually returning to the ring just over a year later, his batteries recharged and mind focused on the future rather than the past.

His patience and determination paid off when he claimed the Commonwealth welterweight title earlier this year, winning on a split decision after a bruising encounter with Craig Watson. Watson started the quicker but O’Donnell came on strong in the later rounds to just edge a fight in which he showed plenty of heart as well as some superb technical boxing.

He returns to the ring on September 5th against the durable but limited Tom Glover in a fight that should be a competitive warm up before the first defence of his Commonwealth title in December.

Glover is in the form of his life having beaten Chas Symonds, Nadeem Siddique and Jon Thaxton in his past three fights. He was considered the underdog in those fights but battled his way to deserved victories through willpower and work-rate. Glover isn’t blessed with great speed, skill or power but makes the most of what he’s got. He’s a fighter that will struggle to win titles in his career but he’ll always gain the respect of his opponents.

O’Donnell should be too skilful for him but Glover will make it a hard night’s work like he always does. I expect the much taller O’Donnell to use his reach advantage to jab and move his way to an early lead before trading punches more as the fight goes on. I think O’Donnell will win somewhere around the 118-110 mark in an entertaining but one-sided fight.

Davis vs Napa

A week later sees Ian Napa challenge Gary Davis for the latter’s British bantamweight title. Napa is coming off a career worst performance, having surrendered his European title in the meekest of manners against Malik Bouziane.

Napa couldn’t get going that night and found himself being picked apart at distance by the much taller man. He needs a performance here to disprove his critics from claiming that his career is on the slide.

Davis, on the other hand, is full of confidence after dropping Matthew Edmonds three times en route to a 7th round stoppage to claim the vacant title earlier this year. Davis imposed his will on Edmonds from the first bell and looked very strong for the weight.

This will be an intriguing clash of styles and experience but I’ve got a feeling the cleaner punching and better tactical nous of Napa will be enough for him to win on points.

Fury vs McDermott

The undercard is headed by Tyson Fury taking on former British title challenger John McDermott. Fury is unbeaten with all of his victories coming inside the distance and will be looking to continue his reign of terror on the domestic heavyweight scene.

McDermott is the nearly man of the division having lost in his three British title attempts. He failed to turn up in his first attempt when he was pummelled to the floor three times and stopped inside a round by Matt Skelton. The other two title defeats were much closer affairs against Danny Williams but it was worrying that when the going got tough, McDermott went into his shell and found a way of losing when he could’ve easily battle his way to victory.

I think this is the perfect fight for Fury at this stage of his career and one in which he’ll be made to work for a few rounds before claiming an impressive stoppage win.

Olusegun vs Daws

The following Friday (September 18) sees the world class Ajose Olusegun defend his British light-welterweight title against former holder Lenny Daws at the legendary York Hall, Bethnal Green.

Olusegun is using this fight as a warm up for a world title eliminator that’s been pencilled in for a month later, this could prove to be a dangerous move if he views Daws as nothing more than a competitive spar.

Daws lost this title in his first defence against Barry Morrison, but still has the ambition and hunger to give Olusegun a real battle. Daws is a pressure fighter who is willing to walk through walls to win.

Olusegun should be too classy for Daws and should be able to pick him apart off the back foot, but if he takes his foot off the gas, or lets Daws get into a rhythm, then he could be in for a bruising night.

e-mail Dave Oakes

Check out the second half of Dave's season preview: British Scene Season Preview Part Two: Macklin vs Asikainen, Thaxton vs Murray, Sexton vs Rogan & Booth vs Hunter
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Photo Gallery: John O'Donnell vs Craig Watson; Lenny Daws vs Pete McDonagh

There were two titles at stake on Saturday April 11, at the York Hall in Bethnal Green.

In the main-event, Craig Watson put his Commonwealth welterweight crown on the line against challenger John O'Donnell in a battle of southpaws, while Lenny Daws and Pete McDonagh contested the vacant English light-welterweight title on the undercard.

Photographer Justin McKie was ringside to capture all the action from both exciting bouts.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Craig Watson vs John O'Donnell The challenger, John O'Donnell makes his way to the ring. O'Donnell, fighting with plenty of hometown support enters the contest on a 5 fight winning streak and an overall record of 20 wins against only 1 defeat. The Commonwealth welterweight champion Craig Watson, enters the ring ready to make the second defense of the title he won from Ali Nuumbembe in December of 2007. The crafty Manchester fighter comes in with a record of 12 wins and only 2 defeats. The champion started well, and had the edge in the early rounds. O'Donnell came on strong during the mid-rounds. Here he catches Watson with a right hook. One of the many good exchanges during the grueling bout. O'Donnell fires a hook to the midsection, as Watson follows through with a left. Desperate to hang onto his crown, the tired champion digs deep and finds a home for his left hand. With the battle winding down, it's anyone's fight. The last few rounds were very tightly contested. Needing to win the final frame, and spurred on by the hometown crowd, the challenger lands a sharp uppercut. Referee Victor Loughlin raises the hand of the winner, as an elated Mick Hennessy looks on. The disappointment on the Watson side is clear. The scores were extremely close. Judge John Keane had Watson in front 116-113, while Judges James Davies and Dave Parris both had it 115-114 for O'Donnell. The new champion shows off his belt, before celebrating with his fans.

Lenny Daws vs Pete McDonagh Pete McDonagh gets warmed up on the pads. The Bermondsey fighter has been on a good run lately, with 6 wins in his last 8 fights. In his most recent bout, he earned a decision over the previously unbeaten Lee Purdy. Lightening Lenny Daws, a regular at York Hall comes into the bout with only 1 defeat in 20 professional contests. The Morden fighter, who once held the British 140 pound crown, drew with Nigel Wright in his previous attempt to win the English title. McDonagh started the bout very well and took the first couple of rounds. Here he catches Daws with a hard right hand. The action was intense, as both fighters were more than willing to come forward and mix it up. After getting off to a slow start, Daws found his footing and turned up the intensity. Here he pounds home a right hand between McDonagh's guard. As the bout wore on, Daws proved a little bit too strong for McDonagh, but the action was competitive all the way through. It's over. After 10 tough action packed rounds, Daws has his hand raised by referee John Keane. Keane's score was 97-94. The new champion proudly shows off the hard earned prize.

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