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After delivering a pair of epic performances from Jamie McDonnell this year, Dave Coldwell’s current focus shifts to another member of the McDonnell family as Gavin goes for continental glory on October 24 against Frenchman, Jeremy Parodi.
Providing chief support to Kell Brook’s world title defence against Diego Chaves in Sheffield, McDonnell has a huge opportunity to impress in front of a massive attendance and Coldwell is busy placing the finishing touches to his charge to ensure his path to EBU glory culminates in glory.
“This is a fight I’m looking forward to and it’ll be a good marker of where I think Gavin should be in his career,” revealed Coldwell. “Parodi is probably remembered for his loss against Carl Frampton but people shouldn’t be foolish to judge a fighter on one loss.
“I’ve had a good look at him for a long time now and he brings an awful lot more than what he showed against Frampton and that is the Jeremy Parodi that we’ve prepared for so we’re not going to let complacency get in the way of what we want to do. Gavin has had excellent sparring in the shape of Ryan Burnett and Gamal Yafai and his desire to keep improving is something that will pay its rewards on fight night.”
McDonnell goes into this battle against Parodi in brilliant form and with Coldwell now performing every aspect of coaching for the Doncaster man, that extra touch of wisdom and experience could be vital when taking the necessary elevation in class.
With solid wins over Josh Wale and Vusi Malinga already on his ledger, McDonnell will be keen to add the scalp of Parodi to his slate before embarking on further steps in class which will hopefully provide more lucrative belt chances. Coldwell is impressed with what McDonnell has shown him so far and hopes that he can transfer his gym form to the important stage on October 24.
“Gavin is a work in progress but he’s improving at a rapid pace and I think he’ll show that against Parodi. This fight is being treated with so much importance and the proof in that is shown by the fact we moved this fight from Leeds to Sheffield so I was able to be there to oversee how things went instead of being in Texas.
“The extra time has been great and after having Gavin in America watching his brother produce a stunning performance, it’s given him some extra motivation to work hard and put in a brilliant performance. He won’t disappoint on October 24th and I’m confident that this is just the start for him.”
