By Terence Dooley
Ireland’s Steve Collins upset the odds when twice decisioning Chris Eubank in 1995 and the former two division WBO titlist turned trainer believes Frank Buglioni, 16-1-1 (12), can also spring an upset when he meets Fedor Chudinov for the WBA World Super middleweight at Wembley Arena on July 24th.
Buglioni has been widely written off in most quarters, his last fight was a 10-round draw with Lee Markham and he lost to Sergey Khomitsky (TKO 6) last year, but he has vowed to relieve the visitor of his title and has the backing of his coach. Frank Warren, the show's promoter, has done his bit by securing home advantage, which could help inspire his fighter to put in the performance of a lifetime.
“When I fought Eubank, the whole world apart from my camp had him favourite to beat me,” said Collins when speaking to The Sun. “In everyone's eyes I was the underdog, just like Frank is now against Chudinov. But I never thought for one second Eubank was superior to me and I proved it with my win. Frank can now prove he deserves to be fighting on the big stage by beating Chudinov and putting himself among the elite fighters in the division like James DeGale.
“The positive thing about being labelled the underdog is that the pressure is off—because nobody is expecting Frank to win. When victory comes it makes it all the more sweet. Of course Frank still has a long way to go. Although in his own mind he isn't the underdog because he knows he has the ability to win. He knows he will have to go to hell and back to get the win he deserves. Chudinov is a big puncher—he has stopped ten of 13 opponents and his rapid rise to the top indicates just how good a boxer he is.”
The 26-year-old Londoner had a rematch with Essex's Markham pencilled in for the same date, he has vowed to defend the belt against his domestic rival should he prove triumphant next month.
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