Donovan George: No Way I’m Losing This Fight
Super middleweight Donovan “Da Bomb” George plans on turning St. Patrick’s Day into a Greek holiday this Saturday, March 17, when he comes bearing the gift of leather for his opponent, Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez.
“Donovan had a phenomenal camp,” said his manager, Mike Michael. “He’s done over 110 rounds of sparring and he’s probably in the best condition he’s ever been for any fight. He’s been running like a marathon runner and working with strength and conditioning coach Trinidad Garcia. This is the most confident and motivated I’ve ever seen him.”
George, who held his camp in his native Chicago, sparred primarily with Polish light heavyweight Andrzej Fonfara, stylistically a good match-up with Rodriguez.
“He’s worked on his offense a lot to use it as his defense because he’s a very offensive fighter. Plus, they’ve added some head movement and lateral movement, to make him busier than he’s ever been as well,” continued Michael.
In the lead-up to the fight, George has been made well aware of his status as the only the only Greek Cypriot professional fighter in the world (he is half-Greek and half-Irish) and the pride he instills in his countrymen. He is also set to become the first ever Greek Cypriot to fight at Madison Square Garden, making history for his country.
“We held a press conference for Donovan in Queens, New York, and he was treated like a VIP by the local Greek community,” Michael explains. “There were four TV stations, six radio stations, five newspapers and three magazines there. We were not expecting this level of support. It was a great day. The Cypress Federation of Greek Cypriots and their president, Panicos Papanicolau were there, and they are backing him 100%. We’ve sold a bunch of tickets to the Greeks and there should be a very strong contingent of Greek fans to support him. All the prominent newspapers of Cypress and Greece are running interviews and promos of the fight.”
In all, Michael says the entire experience has been good for George. “He’s getting into fight mood, cutting weight. The fight is getting closer and he’s ready to take care of business. He said to me the other day ‘There’s no way I’m losing this fight. I will win. I have to do what I can for (his co-promoters) Leon Margules and Warriors, DiBella Entertainment and the Greek Cypriot community for supporting me.”
IBF #4-rated George (22-1-1, 19 KOs) and IBF #5-rated Rodriguez (20-0, 14 KOs) will meet in a 10-round co-main event entitled “Bombs Away” on DiBella Entertainment’s “THE REAL Middleweight Championship – Get Your Irish Up” Sergio Martinez vs. Mathew Macklin fight at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in NYC and televised live on HBO.
