Curtis Woodhouse Explains The Peter McDonagh Loss

By Terence Dooley

Driffield’s Curtis Woodhouse went 3-0 (3) in the first half-and-a-bit of 2010 only to drop an eight round decision to Peter McDonagh at the York Hall in October, bringing his overall slate to 15-2 (10).  Woodhouse’s next opponent, ‘Funtime’ Frankie Gavin out-scored the ‘Connemara Kid’ in only his fifth contest. 

Boxing’s most primitive equation, ‘A beat B, C lost to B so A beats C’, has been put into play, with many assuming that Frankie will do a number on Curtis in the maiden defence of his WBO Inter-Continental welterweight title at Liverpool’s ECHO Arena on July 16th.

Woodhouse has since posted a KO win over durable journeyman Billy Smith, halting the ‘Gypsy Boy’ with a left hook to the body in the second round on April 10.  “I boxed well in that fight,” recalled Curtis.

“I was behind the jab in the first.  Billy is a tough, strong kid who hadn’t been stopped for a while.  I knew it were only scheduled for four rounds but was looking for the stoppage.  I got behind the jab, put over the right hand and got in with body shots.  I was happy, especially as it was my first fight in over five months.”

“It was good to be back.  It is good to have this fight.  I’m delighted and can have no excuses after July 16th,” insists the 31-year-old former footballer.

Curtis, though, admitted that there was a reason behind his failure to beat McDonagh.  Telling me that a misjudgement in making the weight cost him dear on the night.

“What is was, I’ve never made any excuses and this is the first time I’ve revealed this but the bottom-line is that on the morning of the weigh in for Peter McDonagh I dropped 8½lbs – I was a dead man walking,” revealed Woodhouse.

“Like you say, Peter is experienced as a professional, he saw that I had nothing left after a few rounds and he had plenty in the tank so he stepped it up to take the decision fair and square.  I lost that fight on the scales.  Whether people believe that or not is up to them but I dropped a lot of weight the morning of the weigh in and it showed on the night.”

Marcus McDonnell scored the eight-threes contest, handing the W to Peter by a single point.  Curtis, though, feels that the official made the right call.  Saying, “The referee has a tough job to judge a fight and has to score it how he sees it.”

“It is a fight that could have gone either way.  It is not like I only won a few rounds.  I won the early ones, but there was nothing in my legs.  I was out of gas and had nothing at all late.  The ref made an honest decision, he felt Peter won the fight, so I had to take it on the chin.”

McDonagh holds a modest 16-21 (2) record; the 33-year-old is passionate about the sport and a shrewd judge of fighters.  Surely Curtis approached him after the fight to pick up a few tips?

“I was too busy sulking!” laughed Woodhouse.  “One of the reasons I’m only just mentioning the weight is because Peter is a fighter that I respect, he’s fought anyone and everyone, and his record is a who’s who of British boxing.  I didn’t want to moan about the weight and take anything away from him.  It was a deserved win for Peter so what was the point of moaning about it?  The bare facts are there, whether people believe me about the weight or not, and Peter was the better man on the night.

“I am in and around the weight usually but my training hadn’t been great.  I woke up at 10 stone 8 on the day of the weigh in, went for a run then went into the sauna and took more off than I needed.  If you look at the contracted weight then you will notice that I’m a few lbs below it, which is a sign that someone has fucked the weight up.

“I woke up on the morning of the fight feeling rehydrated, I felt great, but then I got on the stool after the second round and thought to myself, ‘Oh fuck’.  There was nothing at all in my legs.”

He added: “People are using that fight as a stick to beat me with because I lost to Peter and Frankie dominated him but the point is that I had nothing after three rounds.  I didn’t quit even though Peter was hitting me with good shots, he isn’t a known puncher but when you’re weak at the weight every shot feels hurtful.  I stuck in there, didn’t quit or bitch and took a lot of positives from that where a lot of people would have taken nothing but negatives.

“I showed I can dig in.  I felt terrible but hung in and answered a lot of questions about myself.  Everyone can be an on top fighter but it can’t always be like that.  I proved to myself that I would not quit when things get tough and I nearly pulled out a victory but it went against me by a point, this is the way it goes.”

Woodhouse has since hooked up with respected Sheffield stalwart Glyn Rhodes.  Former trainer David Coldwell is still on board as his manager.  Curtis believes that the current set up is ideal for his development.

“Dave still manages me,” confirmed Curtis.  “He’s given me advice for this fight and we’ve spoken about sparring partners.  With me not having any amateur experience, I wanted to look around.  Every trainer can teach you something different, I was with Dave for four years and he taught me a hell of a lot.  It was fantastic and Dave takes all the credit but I needed to get out there and did it with Dave’s blessing.

“Dave understands my situation.  I want to get the best I can out of this career.  He wished me well, I respect him for that, and what he has done for me over this past four years has been fantastic.  Glyn has been brilliant.  I feel it makes me a more rounded fighter.

“Glyn is old school.  He gets you fit, gets you sparring and shows you a lot of things.  I am in great shape five weeks out.  I’m excited and ready to go, Frankie better be ready to fight for every minute of every round.”

A win for either fighter would set them up for 147lb contests yet both Woodhouse and Gavin have campaigned at light-welterweight.  Gavin is keen to take on British 140lb holder Ashley Theopane; Woodhouse has won and defended the International Masters title down at the lower poundage.  Theopane, however, holds the crown and will have the final say on whether the winner gets a crack at him down the line; it is good to be king.

For more from Curtis follow this link:
https://www.boxingscene.com/curtis-woodhouse-ready-upset-frankie-gavin--40190