BoxRec

Anyone know if they are going yet?

I reckon the main event is a good scrap, but the more experienced Rhodes is going to batter Woolcombe, who was stopped by Facey (who isnt exactly a puncher, no offence Andrew).

Reid vs McDermott is one im not sure of, I havent seen Reid fight but the only times I saw McDermott were him getting KO'd by Skelton, and looking shyte against Paul King. Is he better than those two performances? Im sure he has done better, but someone else will have to inform me.

Castle vs Barrett - Castle another I havent seen, but Barrett Ive seen lose to Khan and Simpson. While Castle I guess isnt in that class, they havent taken the fight so he will lose it....

Any word on Belshaws opponent yet?

also martin murray on the bill supermiddleweight is on the bill he is one too watch out for

Decent scrap but surprising Friday Fight Night headliner considering some of the ones you here they have gone thumbs down on. Woolcombe will do well to win this one, stopping Portman for the vacant crown is one thing but Rhodes has vast experience and still something left in the tank.

bump

Gary Woolcombe defends his British light-middleweight title against former holder and mandatory challenger Ryan Rhodes next Friday at York Hall.
"Hot stuff" Woolcombe won the title (made vacant by Jamie Moore) with an impressive eight-round retirement stoppage of Midlander Marcus Portman in Wigan in December. The strong, determined Londoner stayed right on top of the lanky Portman, a southpaw like Rhodes, and, although it ended officially on cuts, has clearly learned from his only defeat (in 26) to Sheffield's tricky and heavy-handed Andrew Facey last year, when he failed to dent Facey and ran out of ideas instantly. At 25, the new champion looks to be on the up.
He has to get past Rhodes first, of course, and the "Spice Boy" is a cute, punishing Sheffield fighter in the Facey mould, with masses of experience. Trained by ex-pro Dave Coldwell, Rhodes captured the same British light-middleweight title 12 years ago by stopping Paul "Silky" Jones in eight rounds and successfully defended it against Hull's Peter Waudby (first) and Nottingham's Del Bryan (seventh) to secure the Lonsdale Belt for life in a record 91 days, a record that will probably never be broken.
He's been there, got the belt.
Yes, Rhodes lost his way when he moved up to middleweight in 1997 but ultimately linked up with Coldwell and showed much of his old class when he pushed WBO No. 1 Gary Lockett to a close 12-round decision in Wales in July 2006, dropping the Welsh puncher with a cracking right hand counter in the 10th. It eradicated a lot of doubts about Ryan's chin but seemed to scare off many other domestic middles and Rhodes opted to move back down to light-middleweight, where he's never lost. You wonder, however, if the 31-year-old is truly comfortable at the weight all these years on.
This is probably closer than it appears on paper. Both men have both won their last three (their last three by stoppage) and enjoy meting it out. Rhodes is undoubtedly the cleverer of the two - if he can go 12 rounds with burly Lockett, he can certainly go 12 with Woolcombe - but the champion is younger and fresher and on home turf. It might boil down to who wants it more.
To adopt the old cliche, don't bet on it.

Also on the bill, in a heavyweight clash of novelty proportions, long-time nearly man Pele Reid takes on blubbery Essex boy John McDermott for the vacant English title.
Brummie Reid, still only 34 although he seems to have been around forever, has fought infrequently since Julius Francis destroyed him in three rounds for the British heavyweight title in 1999 and dropped off the radar completely between 2002 and much of 2006 (apparently he resorted to his original 'sport' of kickboxing). He's won three out of three since returning in December 2006 but the opposition ranges from bad to ghastly and the same could pretty much be said of his chin. He's lost four times and four times by stoppage. The last man to stop him is Michael Sprott in the seventh round of an up-and-down thriller in 2002. Reid floored Sprott twice before losing. For all his frailties, Pele can whack.
McDermott is not a puncher but ended the career of former British heavyweight champ Scott Gammer on a clear 10-round decision last September and has won five on the spin since Matt Skelton destroyed him inside a round for the British heavyweight title in December 2005. McDermott enjoys good boxing skills but lacks great conditioning (unlike the impressively built Reid) and likes to box at his own pace. Skelton simply jumped on him and had him down four times. Reid probably has the firepower to do much the same, and it may help him that McDermott doesn't whack, but it's hard to see him coming good at this stage of his 13-year career.
McDermott is fancied to force a late-round stoppage.

I think this could be an entertaining fight.

micky steeds is on this show he's fighting an 8 rounder

Who steeds fighting?

leforge wrote:Who steeds fighting?

paul bonson i think

Ryan easy

I expect Rhodes to win inside the distance.
There can be no excuses.
The prep has gone exactly to plan , he's made the weight comfortably.
Being brutally honest, if Rhodes has an serious pretentions about getting back up there, then this fight should not provide a significant hurdle, and that's not taking anything away from Woolcombe, who seized his chance well.
Rhodes by the 7th.

100% agree

Poor Ajose Olusegun features on the bill in a six-rounder against Mansfield-based Latvian Alexander Spitjo.
Southpaw Olusegun, one of the most avoided fighters in British boxing, underperformed in his last fight against Nigel Wright and is relegated to support status as the reigning Commonwealth light-welterweight champion and WBC No. 8. Olusegun loaded up against Wright in Durham in February and forced his way to a decision on brute stength more than anything else. It took his record to 22-0 (11), a record that has taken seven years to compile, and the London-based Nigerian, who boxed in the 2000 Olympics and crushed Bradley Pryce in the pros in 2004, remains on the outside looking in against the unheralded Spitjo, a busy little pro with a couple of useful wins on Celtic shores behind him.
Junior Witter, however, he ain't.

I have a feeling Rhodes will catch Gary by surprise and take him out for stoppage win.

Rhodes bang on the money.
10st 13lbs 6oz.

I wonder if Rhodes looks at Calzaghe this weekend thinking 'that coulda/shoula been me'.

Maybe not this fight this weekend but when Rhodes performed admirably in that world title challenge against *name evades me* when he was pretty raw he looked destined for big things until that chin of his showed him up.

But once upon a time he did look to have the tools/image required to get a decent fight in Vegas somewhere down the line....

Otis Grant. Had to look that up. The drinking is getting to me.

who else is going?

MatthewS wrote:who else is going?

If I was free mate, I'd go just to sample that balcony again.

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote:

MatthewS wrote:who else is going?

If I was free mate, I'd go just to sample that balcony again.

no owrries mate, you up for Darren Barker on May 30th

MatthewS wrote:

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote:

MatthewS wrote:who else is going?

If I was free mate, I'd go just to sample that balcony again.

no owrries mate, you up for Darren Barker on May 30th

I'm going to that one if it's confirmed.

Asterix wrote:

MatthewS wrote:

Emerson Poncey Name Ghent wrote: If I was free mate, I'd go just to sample that balcony again.

no owrries mate, you up for Darren Barker on May 30th

I'm going to that one if it's confirmed.

I hope its on, Jantuah is a good oppo

MatthewS wrote:

Asterix wrote:

MatthewS wrote: no owrries mate, you up for Darren Barker on May 30th

I'm going to that one if it's confirmed.

I hope its on, Jantuah is a good oppo

His record looks good. Knocked out Marco Antonio Rubio in 1 round, Donny McCrary in 3. Went the distance with Arthur Abraham.

Asterix wrote:

MatthewS wrote:

Asterix wrote: I'm going to that one if it's confirmed.

I hope its on, Jantuah is a good oppo

His record looks good. Knocked out Marco Antonio Rubio in 1 round, Donny McCrary in 3. Went the distance with Arthur Abraham.

Possibly, but at the moment I'm going to Mosley v Judah unless Cotto v Margarito gets announed in the next few weeks.