Gavin McDonnell holds world title hope after Jeremy Parodi bout
Published:
Lee Gormley | October 20, 2015
Gavin McDonnell v Jeremy Parodi
- EBU super-bantamweight title fight
- Saturday, October 24th
- Scheduled for: 20:00 BST
- Sheffield Arena, South Yorkshire
- Live on Sky Sports 1
McDonnell faces Parodi in Sheffield showdown
Coral sponsored Gavin McDonnell will put his European super-bantamweight strap on the line against experienced Frenchman Jeremy Parodi in Sheffield this weekend, but has his sights on an eventual world title after a successful defence.
The Doncaster-born European champion makes his first defence at the Sheffield Arena this Saturday night, on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jr’s Matchroom Promotions debut, and will hope to retain his crown and undefeated record.
McDonnell (13-0-2, 4 KOs) overcame Ukrainian Oleksandr Yegorov at the same Yorkshire venue to claim his current belt in March, in what was his 13th consecutive professional victory and he is odds-on 1/4 to reign supreme again in his latest ring outing.
Frenchman Parodi poses a threat
Twin brother of Jamie McDonnell, the reigning WBA bantamweight champion, Gavin is aiming to eventually emulate his sibling’s success at the highest level, but has been preparing vigorously for the immediate threat of Parodi.
“My preparation is going fantastic, I’ve had a long camp for this one,” McDonnell stated. “I’m in great shape, my weight is fantastic, three weeks to go and I’m back in that square circle.”
His opponent Parodi has won 37 of his 40 career fights, suffering two losses, including a stoppage defeat at the hands of Northern Irish IBF champion Carl Frampton two years ago, after a vicious body shot ended proceedings in the sixth round.
The experienced Toulon-born fighter, arguably the best fighter the French city has produced, is 3/1 to cause an upset in Sheffield, in what will be his first bout outside of his homeland since that Frampton defeat in Belfast.
“I don’t know too much about him to be honest, he’s a lot shorter than me. I’ve seen a lot of the Frampton fight but you can’t really get too much from that,” continued McDonnell. “But if I turn up on fight night and do what I’ve got to do, I can’t see nothing but a win.”
McDonnell to emulate brother’s world title success?
McDonnell has less than half as many professional bouts under his belt than that of his world champion brother, but is already setting sights on reaching that goal as well in the near future.
“I genuinely believe I will be a world champion,” declared McDonnell. “A couple of good experienced fights at this level, like Parodi, who has only lost two in 40, a good solid operator. A couple of good fights like this and I’ll be ready.
“Jamie has obviously set the bar high but it’s up to me, it’s my duty. It’s every fighter’s dream to become a world champion but because my brother has done it, I know if you work hard and push yourself, you can do it.
“That’s why I got into boxing. I was always known as Jamie’s brother but now I am starting to get credit.”
“I want to be as good as my brother”
Gavin’s twin brother Jamie, also sponsored by Coral, secured the vacant WBA title last year after stopping Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat and has since defended the belt three times, including back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Tomoki Kameda.
“Following in his footsteps puts a lot of pressure on me for every fight but it also adds that extra motivation because I know I am going to be compared to him – and I want the comparisons to favour me,” continued the European champion.
“I want to be as good as my brother. I want people to be saying ‘yeah, Jamie’s good but look at his brother coming through’.”
McDonnell has admitted he wouldn’t be afraid of stepping into the ring with either Frampton or fellow division belt-holder Scott Quigg, if the pair’s highly-mooted meeting falls through once again, but his immediate attentions turn to Frenchman Parodi for a Sheffield showdown.
Related
See who else is in action this weekend
Read our boxing archive
Coral’s top tip: Gavin McDonnell to win @ odds-on 1/4
