By Terence Dooley
Driffield’s Curtis Woodhouse has put the pain of having to withdraw from David Haye’s MEN Arena bill behind him by lining up an International Masters welterweight title defence against Bolton’s undefeated Rick Godding, who sparred with Amir Khan prior to Amir’s world title win over Andreas Kotelnik. Dave Coldwell, who promotes Curtis, confirmed the April 25th, Rotherham’s Magna Centre match-up.
“We wanted to make a defence of his Masters title,” explained Coldwell. “My plan for Curtis is for him to go for the English the fight after this one. I’ve got him on that route. He got rid of the monkey on his back by defeating Jay Morrison [who had previously taken away Woodhouse’s ‘0’] in dramatic style in his last fight. This is a natural progression. Rick is a decent kid, 10 and 0 (1 knockout), and will come in with the ambition needed to give Curtis a proper test. This will prepare him for the likes of [English title incumbent] Steve Williams.”
Woodhouse, 29, had hoped to fight French national champion Christophe Sebire on the underbelly of Haye’s April 3rd WBA heavyweight title clash against John Ruiz; however, Curtis felt below par on his first day of training, prompting Coldwell to withdraw his 12-1 (7) fighter from the bill.
“He was absolutely gutted about not being on the Haye bill. He’d had a few days off after the last fight, as he’d been sniffling in the days before the fight, and came into the gym feeling at low ebb. We decided that it would be best to give him time and get him on his own bill, and against a good kid,” revealed Coldwell.
“Curtis was ecstatic when I told him he was fighting Godding, the kid will fight anyone. I like Curtis’ attitude. Curtis wants to test himself and doesn’t want to build up a record without pushing himself. End of the day, he learned a lot from his defeat and now has no fear of losing, he doesn’t want it to happen again and wants to keep testing himself.
“Curtis is going up the ladder in the proper way. This is a real challenge for him. He’s seen Rick box so knows the guy has got height and reach on him, and Rick’s more experienced as an amateur and is well schooled. Curtis will relish this and it will make people take notice of him. I could have picked an easier defence but we want to see Curtis in British title action next September so we need guys who come in to win.”
Godding, 25, boxes William Warburton at Leigh’s Indoor Sports Centre tomorrow night, a win will move Rick to 11-0 and ensure that he goes into the Woodhouse showdown in fine fettle. “Godding is not coming to try and beat Curtis, he’ll turn up fully expecting to beat Curtis, as he’s never tasted defeat and will see this as another day at the office,” enthused Coldwell.
“Rick could be 11-0 when he comes into this one, he’ll be on a roll. It is a good fight for him. I’ve got a good relationship with [Goddings’s manager] Steve Wood and we work well together, I asked him about this fight, he put it to Rick, and now it’s on, job well done.”
Indeed, Coldwell’s last Magna Centre show was a job extremely well done, it was a well-promoted affair that drew in staggering numbers for a small hall show. Coldwell believes that his April 25th show could be the best yet.
“It was absolutely fantastic last time, twelve hundred people - it was banged out. We’re still getting stopped wherever we go and asked when next show is. Tickets are now on sale and I’m expecting another great atmosphere,” bubbled the effervescent promoter/trainer.
“Josh Wale is on the bill in a six-threes, Ali Shah is on the bill and there is some good, young talent on the bill. Navid Mansouri, who beat Steve Spence in 55 seconds last time is fighting Ryan Clarke, who went the distance with Neil Beevers, so it will be a good night.”
Tickets are priced £25 for unreserved, £50 for ringside and £80 for VIP Dinner Service seats, and can be bought online at www.visitmagna.co.uk/coldwellproductions or by phoning 01709 720002.