Gavin McDonnell has vowed to join his brother as a World champion ahead of his European Bantamweight title defence against Jeremy Parodi at the Sheffield Arena on Saturday night, live on Sky Sport.
McDonnell’s twin Jamie twice travelled to Texas this year to defeat Japanese star Tomoki Kameda in defences of his WBA Bantamweight title, and his success has been a driving force in his training as he defends his Euro strap for the first time against the Frenchman.
“Going over to Texas for Jamie’s fights was fantastic,” said McDonnell. “What he did was tremendous and it still hasn’t really sunk in.
“It was a great experience to go out there and see how it all works and to train out there, to spar out there and to keep myself in good shape. It was great and now I’ve done it, if I ever out there myself I know what to expect. It was no holiday, we were serious about our business. It was experience and that is all good experience on my way up to where I want to be.
“I say to my team – Stefy Bull, Dave Coldwell and Matchroom – that I am happy with whatever they put in front of me. I want some good fights on the fringe of World titles to keep getting that experience ready for when I do fight for a World title.
“I want to be ready and tick all the boxes on the way up because when I fight for a World title I want to win it and stay there so I have to pick up all the experience and whatever my team think is best for me I will do.
“I want to stay busy, I want to get a few fights under my belt. I live in the gym now but this is only my second fight of the year. That is through other things; I got married in the summer and my brother had big fights, so a few little things mean that this is only my second fight of the year but ideally I want four fights a year. If I can’t get out before Christmas then I hope next year will be a busy year for me with some good solid fights to get the experience that I need.”
McDonnell’s European title defence is part of a big night of action in Sheffield as Chris Eubank Jr makes his Sky Sports debut defending his WBA Interim Middleweight title against American Tony Jeter. Leigh Wood faces Josh Wale in an eliminator for the British Featherweight title, there’s the hotly anticipated clash between Sheffield’s Atif Shafiq and Derby’s Jamie Robinson and a host of young local talent is also in action.
Tickets are on sale now at the revised prices at £30, £45, £60, £80 and £100 are on sale now from the Sheffield Arena on 0114 2565656 and at www.motorpointarenasheffield.co.uk. VIP tickets priced at £175 VIP are exclusively available from www.matchroomboxing.com.
Tickets for October 24 are also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ – StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.
