Boxing News Boxing News
Tom Glover is ready to cement his reputation as boxing’s new Cinderella Man when he takes on reigning Commonwealth Welterweight Champion John O’Donnell at the Watford Colosseum on September 5th.
The two men clash in the main event of a Hennessy Sports event live on ITV4 and Glover believes he can defy the odds once again against O’Donnell who has been included on the shortlist for the BBBofC’s Young Boxer of the Year award.
The past year has seen the Southern Area Welterweight Champion score a string of upset wins culminating in a points victory over former British and European Champ Jon Thaxton last time out. That win secured the 28-year-old Maldon man a shot at O’Donnell and he’s confident he can keep his winning run going.
“My confidence is sky high right now,” revealed Glover. “I always believed I was better than the results in the early part of my career showed and I’m proving that now. I think the Thaxton fight has made a lot of people sit up and take notice. I was very confident going in to that fight because I’d sparred with him before and I knew exactly what I’d have to do to win.
“He’s a very big puncher for his weight but I knew that the longer the fight went the more it would suit me and although I’m not the biggest puncher in the world my punches were taking their toll on him and if the fight had been over 10 or 12 rounds I might even have got a stoppage.”
Now Glover is gearing himself up to take another big scalp in the shape of O’Donnell and he realises that the slick, southpaw will present a whole new challenge.
“O’Donnell’s a southpaw like Thaxton but he’s going to be a completely different proposition style wise. It’s still going to be the same situation for me because I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“I’ve seen plenty of O’Donnell and I know he’s going to be very difficult to pin down. He’s tall, rangy, has very quick hands and he’s quite skilful as well. I’m sure there will be times early on in the fight where he’ll be outclassing me in terms of skill but the longer the fight goes the more I’ll get stuck in. I’m going to have to drag him into a fight but I believe I can do that.
“It’s no secret that the way I fight I have to take a few punches to get in a few of my own but that’s not a problem for me. I’ll have to force him to stand and fight but he’s not the biggest puncher in the world so I’ll be happy enough to stay in range and keep the pressure on him.
“The longer a fight goes the more it suits me and I’m confident that once I get into the later rounds I can start to take over with my work rate.”
The main event promises to be an action packed affair but the chief support at the Watford Colosseum is also set to be a sure fire thriller with Lee Purdy and Peter McDonagh staging a rematch of their first thrilling encounter last December.
On that occasion McDonagh handed Purdy the first defeat of his career when he edged out the Colchester prospect on points to claim the Southern Area Light Welterweight title. This time around the two men will contest the Southern Area Welterweight crown which has been just been vacated by Glover.
The undercard also features unbeaten prospects Logan McGuinness, Richard Towers, Bradley Evans and Bobby “Boogaloo” Ward alongside the pro debut of Brendan Ingle’s new Yemeni sensation Kid Galahad (subject to board approval). Tickets priced £35, £40 and £75 are available from the Ticketline box office on 0844 888 4402 or via www.ticketline.co.uk.
