O'Doherty ready to defend British title at dream venue O2 Arena
In August, Louie O’Doherty gave himself a night off and bought a ticket to watch Moses Itauma and Filip Hrogvic fight for the IBF heavyweight title at London’s O2 Arena.
Alongside his job as a Gymnastics instructor, O'Doherty had been in training for this Saturday's British lightweight title defense against Michael Gomez Jr. at the same venue.
It has long been O'Doherty's dream to fight at the famous southeast London arena and as WBO heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley climbed into the ring to publicize their eagerly anticipated rematch, the 26-year-old from Essex became another fan and took in the scene.
O’Doherty knew that his fight with Gomez Jr. was pencilled in for a spot on the undercard of the heavyweight showdown but he was about to receive a major surprise.
“We were told that it was going to happen in Manchester at Co-op Live. When they [Dubois and Wardley] both got in the ring and they said it was happening at O2, people started looking at me asking if I was on their show. I just said, 'Well, I must be fighting here then.' It was brilliant,” O’Doherty (12-0, 3 KOs) told The Ring.
“I’ve watched at O2 but I’ve only ever had bad seats. I’ve never had a good seat because it’s so expensive.
“When I see them [the boxers] walk in I get goosebumps. I won’t let it get to me now because I’m very calm but, afterwards, I’ll take it in a bit more and think about how amazing it really is.”
O’Doherty has collected a hoard of belts in his short professional career but he remains one of the most low-profile champions in British boxing.
Saturday’s show provides him with the perfect chance to impress those watching on DAZN PPV and the volatile Gomez (23-2, 8 KOs) couldn’t have emerged as an opponent at a better time.
The 31-year-old was stopped in a previous bid for Reece Bellotti’s British title at junior lightweight but he has found his form – and punching power – since stepping up to 135 pounds.
O’Doherty is an all-action fighter who threw 1200 punches during his May 16 title defense against the previously undefeated Ahmed Hatim.
Trying to grab a fraction of the spotlight from Dubois and Wardley won’t be easy but the fight has the potential to take O’Doherty’s profile to another level.
“I think he’ll be better than he was in the fights he lost. You might think 'That's a blueprint to winning,' but he’s gone back to the drawing board and he's improved on the things that maybe didn't go well in those fights,” he said.
“Maybe he's just found his weight. Maybe it suits him. Maybe he hasn't faced anyone who's strong at the weight either yet. I'm going to find out. He'll find out, and we'll both know where we stand after that. I’ll know whether I can maybe step up to European level or he'll know whether he should maybe go down the weights or not.
“You have to wait and see really. No one knows until you get in there.”
