Matchroom Sport has released a new Anthony Joshua video, No Hype. The short clip takes a look at Joshua training and putting the hard work in to continue improving his game. Of course, Joshua gets a chance at a world title next weekend against Charles Martin. You can watch the Joshua video here, and check out some other news and notes from the British scene.
McDonnell faces Rosas at The O2
WBA Bantamweight titlist Jamie McDonnell will face ‘The Monster’ Juan Alberto Rosas at The O2 in London on April 9.
McDonnell boxes back in Britain for the first time since his pair of brilliant wins over Tomoki Kameda in Texas in 2015, and his first action in the UK since tackling Javier Chacon in Liverpool back in November 2014.
Rosas will present a tough examination for the Doncaster man though, with the Mexican former IBF Super-Flyweight champion holding wins over Zolani Tete and Alejandro Gonzalez.
McDonnell first met Kameda in May in Hidalgo, climbing off the canvas in the third round to defeat the former IBF champion and then repeated the dose in Corpus Christi four months later, this time flooring the Japanese star in the final round to put an exclamation point on the rematch.
McDonnell, who turned 30 on Wednesday, says he cannot wait to be back in action on UK soil following his US adventure but knows that Rosas can derail his plans to land a unification bout later in the year.
“I cannot tell you how good it feels to be back fighting in the UK,” said McDonnell. “It has been a long-time coming. Training has been perfect, I am feeling a million dollars and I am looking forward to putting on a great performance and showing everyone what I am about.
“I have had a full-camp, I have been in the gym for 20 weeks and I have known for the last eight weeks that I would be on this show, so we have been training towards April 9 for a while.
“Rosas has won World titles before, he beat Tete in a World title eliminator who is a top fighter and Gonzalez, who gave Carl Frampton a great World title fight, so he has mixed it with the best and is very experienced.
“He will bring a lot to the table. He is only 31 so he will still be hungry and he will want it. I hope we can put on a great fight and I am 100 per cent confident that I can beat him.
“I am really looking forward to it. I watched Froch vs. Kessler at The O2 and I cannot wait to box there myself. It’s a huge night and I am ready to show everyone what I am about and I cannot wait for it.
“If I win next Saturday there have been talks of the Juan Carlos Payano fight for the Super title, there is also the Lee Haskins fight out there, I wouldn’t mind fighting Shinsuke Yamanaka as it is me or him who is the best in the division and that would be for the green belt, so there are some big fights there at Bantamweight, but I have to get next Saturday out of the way fights. I don’t like to jinx myself and all I am thinking about is April 9.”
Cardle: I’ll teach Dodd a lesson on Saturday
Scotty Cardle sent a strong message to British Lightweight challenger Sean Dodd ahead of their rematch on Saturday night – “you are bang average and I’m going to teach you a lesson.”
Cardle and Dodd clash again at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, live on Sky Sports, the same venue for their epic first encounter in November.
Dodd looked set to take the title from the Lytham St Annes man making his first defence of the belt, but Cardle poured on the pressure in the final round and forced the stoppage.
Cardle offered Dodd an immediate rematch after the bell but as the fight creeps closer, he’s warned the Birkenhead challenger that it’s going to be a one-sided affair the second time around.
“The only reason it was a contender for fight of the year was because I underperformed,” said Cardle. “I had a bad day at the office and he had his best night in the paid ranks. I am happy to say I can learn from a win and move on to the next one, and that is why I took the rematch, because I have a demon to exercise. He’s bang average at best, he showed his best performance on that night. He threw the head in a bit but other than that he didn’t do anything, I was poor on the night and he brought me down to his level. It’s a different story this time.
“Last time it was quite a poor performance from myself,” said Cardle. “My game plan was perfect but I didn’t use it on the night. I came out to quite a hostile reception and I was trying to make a point to everybody.
“The game plan went out of the window as soon as I walked into that arena. I just wanted to fight and it was quite daft of me and quite unprofessional. I had never walked out to a reception like that before but now I have experienced it I know what I have to do, and that is to stick to the tactics Joe Gallagher has given me and show the skills that I have.
“I feel I have experienced that now and I am expecting the same hostile welcome from the fans, if not even worse because they know they got to me last time. I know it’s coming on Saturday and I have to soak in the positive energy and take it on the chin, brush it off and get on with the job.
“I did think he would come with the game plan that he did bring. I thought it would be as busy as he was but I didn’t think the fight would end up the way it did, but the only reason for that was because of my performance.
“Saturday will be the one-sided lesson it should have been the first time. No disrespect to Sean, but there are levels and I feel that I am a level above him and I have to show that because I didn’t in the first fight. I have a job to do. The training has gone great, I have felt spectacular in sparring and I have no worries going into this. If I use what I have been using in training, then we will have no complaints whatsoever.”
