McDonnell demonstrates potential on memorable night
Monday 27 October 2014 13:52, UK
Hull Ice Arena played host to a fired- up crowd on Saturday night - and were rewarded with impressive displays by hometown heroes Luke Campbell and Tommy Coyle.
Here Sky Sports pundit Johnny Nelson reflects on Campbell's comprehensive win over Daniel Brizuela, Coyle's second-round stoppage of Michael Katsidis and Gavin McDonnell's opportunity-grabbing points success over Vusi Malinga...
Luke Campbell
Campbell showed his class against Brizuela - and has shown that he is far beyond the domestic level now. He doesn't struggle with certain fighters, like Tommy Coyle did with Brizuela. I was impressed with everything I saw from Luke Campbell on Saturday night - and he did it all with class. He was calculated, skilful, and swift.
With just nine fights to his name, he still needs to gain some more experience in the professional game but he will certainly graduate further. The performance didn't necessarily tell me that he's not yet at the world level, but it definitely told me, without doubt, that he's at that European level. Another few fights like that, another few gambles to test him, and we will find out exactly how far Luke Campbell is going to go as a professional fighter.
Tommy Coyle
Wow! I didn't think Tommy Coyle could do that to Michael Katsidis.
Wow! I'll be one of the few to put my hands up and say that I didn't think Tommy Coyle could do that to Michael Katsidis. I felt like a few of the guys on Ringside felt the same last week but didn't voice their opinion. Katsidis came six weeks ago to do a job on Coyle and that showed just how serious his intentions were. Coyle said himself that he was absolutely terrified going into that fight against one of his idols and you know what, fighting on fear does it for a man. You fight on instincts, you fight on reactions and you fight on nerve.
That's how Coyle fought and, like us, Katsidis underestimated him and went after him, not respecting what Coyle could do. Tommy Coyle took advantage of that, bounced off the back foot and clipped him with a snappy left hand which did the job. He now seems set for a clash with his mate Luke Campbell at some point next year - and that will be a great bout for the people of Hull to look forward to.
Gavin McDonnell
This was the perfect gamble from Gavin McDonnell. Three-time world-title contender Vusi Malinga was always going to be a threat but Gavin - WBA bantamweight champ Jamie's twin brother - managed to scrape through, get the win and get his hands on the WBO International super bantamweight strap. He showed he has the skillset to compete, however that win now puts him in deep waters. Before the fight we didn't really put his name alongside the likes of Kid Galahad, Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton but now we can.
The big question facing him is, does he believe he's up there with those fighters? He's got to figure out if he can step up into that class and it's a gamble he and his people will have to decide themselves. Or he's going to have to be humble and say that he's not ready for those fights? As a boxer it's not easy to make that decision because you want to believe you can beat anyone, but it's important to take the correct steps at the correct time.
