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Fight Academy can confirm that International Boxing Federation Light Heavyweight Champion Clinton Woods will defend against Australian Jason DeLisle at the Ponds Forge Centre in Sheffield, England on May 13.
The hometown hero from the Steel City will be the main event of the sister show to Ricky Hatton’s American invasion the same night in Boston, USA. It is Woods’s second defense of the world championship and, in a voluntary, he will take on the man who knocked him down in a thrilling collision in Sheffield in October 2004.
Woods won the IBF eliminator on a 12th round stoppage but had to claw his way back into the fight after getting dropped – and heavily – in the opening round.
Woods said: “There’s talk of me fighting Joe Calzaghe this summer and I’ve also got my mandatory against Glen Johnson, the best in the division, coming up and I didn’t want to go into those types of fights having not fought since I beat Julio Gonzalez last September.
“I wanted a proper, hard opponent before then and Jason DeLisle has been shouting his mouth off to anyone who’d listen that he nearly knocked me out in first fight so, OK, don’t sing it – bring it, Jason!”
The Sydney fighter, who calls himself “the Nailer’, was informed he was in the frame for this title shot over a month ago and immediately launched a bullish PR campaign to antagonize his way to the top of Fight Academy’s shortlist.
DeLisle said: “This time he won’t be getting up. I might knock him out cold – I’m going to stop him. And there’s no way our last fight should have been stopped, either. I was a bit tired in the final round, but I wasn’t hurt. I was winning quite a few rounds up to the last round. We were even on the cards after round six and I thought I was in front (going into the last round). It was a great fight but now I know how to pace myself better. I will have much better preparation this time and throw even more shots at him.”
And it is the Australian’s workrate, not his power, which Woods said he is most concerned about: “The real homework for me in the gym is that DeLisle’s got a great workrate. I’ll be training extra hard in the stamina area because the Aussie just keeps throwing and throwing. I’m going to hurt him early on to stop him from doing that but fitness is going to be especially
important to me for this fight.”
“But when he put me down I was only a flash knockdown, I’d been out the ring for eight, nine months, and I was cold. He caught me in first, ok, but he didn’t really hurt me for the rest of the fight. If he thinks he did then tell him to try it again and we’ll see who knocks who out.
Woods added: “He’s got a lot of heart, and the knockdown will give him confidence but I will really do a number on him. I know a lot of people said he gave me a hard, tough fight last time but, for me being in there, I was comfortable the whole time. I know the fans really enjoyed it, though, and I think they’ll get another great fight but this time I’ll stop him in eight rounds rather than 12. Since the last fight I’ve grown so much as a fighter.”
Fight Academy’s Dennis Hobson added: “Even though some will call this a “marking time’ or “keep busy’ fight it is a genuine, dangerous assignment for Clinton. How can it not be with him in with I nearly had a heart attack during the last fight when DeLisle put Clinton down and it were a wicked fight to watch until Clinton finally got on top of him. After facing Clinton, DeLisle won his next three fights and then only lost to Gonzalez on a hometown decision and although I know Clinton is one of the most improved champions in boxing I’ve warned him to expect DeLisle to be better than last time also.
“DeLisle will obviously be coming over thinking he’s got every chance of putting Clinton down on his backside but now he’s got the shot it is down to him to back up all these boasts.”
