Manners: Corcoran-Johanneson could be one of the fights of the year
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Carl Johanneson’s trainer Rick Manners believes that fight fans are in for a treat when his charge meets Billy Corcoran for the vacant British Super Featherweight Title next Wednesday on the Hennessy Sports ‘Fifty-Fifty’ event at the York Hall in Bethnal Green.
“I think this could be one of the fights of the year,” said Manners, who also manages Johanneson. “It’s going to be intriguing and it will get explosive. Like the fight poster says this fight is ‘Fifty-Fifty’ in most people’s eyes. Both fighters are talented kids, old-fashioned gunslingers as I have said before.”
Unsurprisingly, he sees things being more in favour of his man. “Billy has always been good. But we have been working on how we want to achieve our win against him. Carl is on the ascendancy, since I have been training him he has done more than I have asked of him. The only person who can beat him is himself.”
Manners is upbeat, despite some small difficulties in training. “Training has gone quite well, but it could have gone better,” he admitted. “There were some problems in getting sparring, people were asking for more money to spar than to fight, but we managed to get some people in to help us out. In general we are very happy with how everything has gone.”
The confidence in the Johanneson camp is understandable, given his impressive two round knockout of Andrew Ferrans in February in a final eliminator for the British Championship.
“He knocked him out in style,” said Manners. “I was very pleased with the win and it wasn’t a fluke. That kid can’t do anything else but fight. You take the problems that he has had in the past out of the equation and you have a fighting machine.”
On only one occasion has he looked anything but since he decided to relocate back to Leeds in March 2004. In December of that year Russian Leva Kirakosyan knocked him out inside a round, but he wasn’t himself going in.
“Carl should never have been in that fight,” Manners, who wasn’t in his corner at the time, explained. “He took it just for the money. He wasn’t in any kind of shape and paid the price.”
It wasn’t until after this fight that the pair teamed up. They had, however, known each other before from the amateur scene before Johanneson moved to America to train and fight as a professional in 2000.
“The minute Carl got stopped in that fight, it appeared that his so called team at the time lost faith,” Manners continued. “It seemed like they didn’t want to know. Carl started to look for another trainer and we spoke. He knew what I had done in the past with a couple of other fighters and that I had contacts.
“I was warned off him. I was told don’t do this, don’t do that, but I have always liked him. All you have to be with me is humble and I knew he had talent. He was a bag of bones and I really felt for him. We sat down and I told him that he needed to dedicate himself for three solid years and that we could build a solid platform. You are seeing the benefit of that now, he is in the best form of his career.”
Understandably, Manners feels the future looks bright, particularly now he is working with Hennessy Sports. “It’s a good relationship to have,” he said. “We treat our fighters in the same way, unlike a lot of promoters we seem to have a bond with our fighters, we love them personally. There is a bit more to it than just a business relationship.”
The respected trainer also appreciates the respect that has been shown between the two camps. “I’m glad this fight hasn’t become a slanging match. It didn’t need it; it’s exciting enough without all of that. The guys are both consummate professionals. They will do their business in the ring without the need to mouth off.”
That is not to say that both boxers haven’t spoken confidently. Corcoran has predicted that he will become the fourth member of the Hennessy Sports team to currently hold a British Title without the need to hear the final bell. Johanneson has countered.
“Carl is a man of few words,” said his trainer. “But he is really up for this in his own quiet way. When I told him that Billy had said he was going to win early, he just shook his head and said ‘no way, that’s not going to happen’”.
‘Fifty-Fifty’ takes place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green on Wednesday 12th July. Sky Sports televise. The undercard features Junior Olympic Gold Medallist John O’Donnell, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Darren Barker and WBC World Youth Champion John Murray. For the latest bill please visit HennessySports.com. For tickets please phone 0870 060 1795.
Manners: Corcoran-Johanneson set to sizzle
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Wellington
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Old bones Ian
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Gritty Wembley-based Irishman Billy Corcoran takes on talented Leeds man Carl "Ingemar" Johanneson in a mouthwatering clash for the vacant British super-featherweight title (vacated by Alex Arthur) at York Hall next Wednesday (July 12).
Mick Hennessy promotes.
Corcoran, promoted by Hennessy, earned his opportunity last October when he wrested the English super-featherweight title from Coventry's experienced Roy Rutherford after four exciting rounds at York Hall. Rutherford struggled to get to grips with the pace, aggression and underrated boxing ability of stocky Corcoran, and was pulled out by his corner with a cut over the right eye
He had been down in the first.
But the smooth-boxing, hard-hitting Johanneson was also impressive in dismantling Andrew Ferrans in two rounds in a British title eliminator earlier this year. The Yorkshireman is an interesting character. His uncle is Albert Johanneson, the first black footballer to play in an FA Cup final (for Leeds against Liverpool in 1965). Carl also bucked the trend, for a British fighter, when he turned pro in the States in 2000.
He won 15 of 16 fights there (the loss, a split decision after eight rounds to useful Georgian Koba Gogoladze in Detroit in 2003), before he made his way back to Leeds (where he grew up) and captured the meaningless WBF super-featherweight title from Carl Greaves at Wembley in early 2004 (three rounds).
After a couple of defences, Carl walked on to a crunching right hand from Russian Leva Kirakosyan at Crystal Palace in December 2004 and was stopped in the first. But Kirakosyan had nearly taken out Michael Gomez a couple of months earlier.
Still, Johanneson left long-time mentor John Durkin afterwards and is now handled by Rick Manners (and trained by Trevor Schofield). He's reeled off five wins since Kirakosyan, including a nine-round stoppage of Birkenhead's Peter Allen for the vacant Central Area super-featherweight title last September and a second-round knockout of Walsall's Jimmy Beech in May last year.
Beech is the only man to beat Corcoran in 16 outings (one draw).
Last time out in February at the magnificent Leeds Town Hall, Johanneson forced that second-round stoppage of Ferrans, his second stoppage win over the tall Scot.
The 27-year-old Johanneson looks to have got over the Kirakosyan shocker. One of those educated pressure fighters, he's benefitted from his American apprenticeship and has stopped 16 opponents in a record of 23-2. That's a lot.
But Corcoran is an effective box-fighter himself, as he showed breaking down the normally solid Rutherford, a former British featherweight champion who had never been stopped before. The Galway-born traveller has won nine in a row since that narrow, debatable setback to Beech in May 2003 at Dagenham. A sharp jab paves the way for aggressive attacks to head and body. Billy simply loves to fight. And sets a hot pace.
So this has all the makings of a war. Johanneson, the more established of the two, holds that quick win over Beech, but Corcoran, nicknamed "The Kid", is coming into his own at 25. The draw on his record came with Coventry's useful Mark Payne in April 2003. A month later, he lost to Beech - and he's never looked back.
Carl says he wants to win for his famous uncle, found dead in a squalid Leeds tower block flat in the 80's. I doubt he can match Corcoran for hunger, however, nor durability. Johanneson's chin looks suspect in the wake of the Kirakosyan disaster.
Corcoran, the house fighter, should come through a stormer.
Mick Hennessy promotes.
Corcoran, promoted by Hennessy, earned his opportunity last October when he wrested the English super-featherweight title from Coventry's experienced Roy Rutherford after four exciting rounds at York Hall. Rutherford struggled to get to grips with the pace, aggression and underrated boxing ability of stocky Corcoran, and was pulled out by his corner with a cut over the right eye
He had been down in the first.
But the smooth-boxing, hard-hitting Johanneson was also impressive in dismantling Andrew Ferrans in two rounds in a British title eliminator earlier this year. The Yorkshireman is an interesting character. His uncle is Albert Johanneson, the first black footballer to play in an FA Cup final (for Leeds against Liverpool in 1965). Carl also bucked the trend, for a British fighter, when he turned pro in the States in 2000.
He won 15 of 16 fights there (the loss, a split decision after eight rounds to useful Georgian Koba Gogoladze in Detroit in 2003), before he made his way back to Leeds (where he grew up) and captured the meaningless WBF super-featherweight title from Carl Greaves at Wembley in early 2004 (three rounds).
After a couple of defences, Carl walked on to a crunching right hand from Russian Leva Kirakosyan at Crystal Palace in December 2004 and was stopped in the first. But Kirakosyan had nearly taken out Michael Gomez a couple of months earlier.
Still, Johanneson left long-time mentor John Durkin afterwards and is now handled by Rick Manners (and trained by Trevor Schofield). He's reeled off five wins since Kirakosyan, including a nine-round stoppage of Birkenhead's Peter Allen for the vacant Central Area super-featherweight title last September and a second-round knockout of Walsall's Jimmy Beech in May last year.
Beech is the only man to beat Corcoran in 16 outings (one draw).
Last time out in February at the magnificent Leeds Town Hall, Johanneson forced that second-round stoppage of Ferrans, his second stoppage win over the tall Scot.
The 27-year-old Johanneson looks to have got over the Kirakosyan shocker. One of those educated pressure fighters, he's benefitted from his American apprenticeship and has stopped 16 opponents in a record of 23-2. That's a lot.
But Corcoran is an effective box-fighter himself, as he showed breaking down the normally solid Rutherford, a former British featherweight champion who had never been stopped before. The Galway-born traveller has won nine in a row since that narrow, debatable setback to Beech in May 2003 at Dagenham. A sharp jab paves the way for aggressive attacks to head and body. Billy simply loves to fight. And sets a hot pace.
So this has all the makings of a war. Johanneson, the more established of the two, holds that quick win over Beech, but Corcoran, nicknamed "The Kid", is coming into his own at 25. The draw on his record came with Coventry's useful Mark Payne in April 2003. A month later, he lost to Beech - and he's never looked back.
Carl says he wants to win for his famous uncle, found dead in a squalid Leeds tower block flat in the 80's. I doubt he can match Corcoran for hunger, however, nor durability. Johanneson's chin looks suspect in the wake of the Kirakosyan disaster.
Corcoran, the house fighter, should come through a stormer.