By Terence Dooley
Curtis Woodhouse has all the incentive in the world to beat ‘Supersonic’ Stefy Bull in their Yorkshire grudge match at the Doncaster Dome tomorrow night. Putting aside the regional bragging rights there is the small matter of a showcase fight with Frankie Gavin at the LG Arena, Birmingham on the line for Curtis, who will be given a chance against Frank Warren’s hopeful should he get past Bull.
Curtis, also, is aching to show the English sporting public that not all English footballers are prepared to meekly surrender when under fire; Woodhouse, a former Premiership player, gave up the more lucrative sport to plug his way through the boxing ranks, this is a chance for him to go before the Sky cameras and show the punters the kind of passion that is missing from the national team.
Bull, 33, has repeatedly called for this showdown, claiming that Woodhouse was ignoring a local rival for fear of suffering a devastating defeat. Whilst stopping short of calling this a grudge match, Woodhouse was happy to admit that there is a bit of needle involved.
“I don’t know to be honest,” said Woodhouse, 13-1 (8), when asked where the bad feeling stemmed from. “I met Stefy about six-months ago in Leeds and we had a few pints and got on well together, then the fight got made and all that goes out the window. Now the fight is on and it is business, we both want to go in there and punch each other in the face, we can be friends afterwards if he wants.
“Stefy said he wanted this fight and now he’s got it, my mum always said you should be careful what you wish for, Stefy asked for this and now he’s gonna get smashed. It is a brilliant opportunity, I’ve been progressing nicely on Dave Coldwell shows, he’s brought me on well, but this is chief support on a Sky Sports bill.
“I’m going to Doncaster, the officials will probably be from Doncaster and the crowd will be cheering for Stefy so I’m going into the lion’s den. I don’t want to leave anything to chance – I’ll be going for the knockout.”
Indeed, the 30-year-old admitted that he is looking forward to hearing the ire of the crowd, the former Sheffield United player is used to plying his trade in front of hostile away crowds.
“I’m expecting a whole lot of boos and I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get them. If there is a good atmosphere I can just buzz off it. I will be taking a few coach loads to Doncaster myself. I expect a really hot atmosphere. I’ve heard that the people of Doncaster are expecting Stefy to do the business on me, but I’ve got other plans,” he laughed.
Bull has lost six times in 36 fights, with 29 wins and a single draw; his heaviest defeats came against Amir Khan, Scott Lawton and Dean Pithie, third, eighth and eleventh round defeats respectively. This news buoyed Woodhouse; he believes that Bull cannot cut it when he steps up in class.
“Listen, you mentioned the people who’ve stopped him, every time he steps up a class he gets knocked out, he’s doing it again against me and I wouldn’t be surprised if I knocked him out early.
“I hope he comes out blazing. Once that bell goes, I want him to fight but I don’t think he will, he’ll box on his back-foot. If there is a fight then there’ll only be one winner. I’m like a Ferrari that has been polished up and put in the garage ahead of the big night. I’ve had top sparring with Craig Watson and Ryan Rhodes for this fight. I’ve had the two best light-middles in Britain to prepare me and I’m more than capable of doing the ten rounds. I’ll set a fast pace and see if he can live with it, we’ll see how those 33-year-old legs handle it.”
A win for Woodhouse would see him go into a showdown with Frankie Gavin riding a four-fight winning streak; ‘Funtime’ has impressed thus far in his career, cruising to 7-0 (1) whilst barely breaking a sweat. Woodhouse knows that the Gavin face-off relies on the outcome of Friday night’s fight.
“Yeah, this is a big fight for me,” he admitted. “Dave said if I win this one there is some massive things lined-up for me. Once that bell goes I’ll be right up for it. Everyone has a plan, Stefy has a plan, but the plans go when they get smacked in the mouth. Once that bell goes we’ll see what he’s got, he’s been talking a lot of crap so once we get in there he’ll have to back it up.”
Coldwell told me that the fighter is under strict instructions to take his mind off the fight in the final few days leading up to it, an England run in the World Cup would have proved a nice distraction only for the nation’s hopes to be torpedoed by Germany’s younger team. Woodhouse, though, is insistent that he will be able to go for more rounds than the national side, and he won’t bore the pants off anyone in the process.
“I’ve been watching the World Cup, my little boy is football mad. I’ve watched the England performances but they’ve been pretty dismal. I was dusting my boots off watching the games; I think I could get in that team. Like the rest of the country, I was really disappointed in them. The time for excuses has stopped; the paying public have been making excuses for English football for twenty years. We have to accept that we are not good enough, it is as simple as that,” blasted Woodhouse.
“Me and Stefy ain’t messing about. We won’t be going through the motions like some of those English players. I’m trained for an absolute humdinger and will be upset if I don’t get it! My training comes first and once it is over I can sit down with my lad and watch a game, it actually takes my mind of it, this is a high-pressure fight – no disrespect to Jamie McDonnell [who tops the bill] but everyone in the local area is talking about this one.
“It is a chief support fight that has caught on. Two south Yorkshire people going at it, two rival camps that don’t get on – I can’t wait for that first bell to ring. It is on. The talking will stop and we’ve prepared for Stefy to box or try to have a fight. Whatever he brings, I’ve got the answer for it.”
Drillfield’s biggest boxing hope has prepared like a champion for this one, with Ryan Rhodes and Craig Watson providing the southpaw sparring needed to make those crucial adjustments. Curtis believes that he has learned from the best two portsiders in the 154lb division.
“I’ve sparred Ryan and Craig, Stefy is miles behind them in terms of ability so I’m confident, not over-confident but as confident as I can be – I’ve got no excuses and want to put a show on,” he enthused.
“I got the two best southpaws out there, one a European and the other a Commonwealth champion, so I got great sparring with two top kids. I expect Stefy to be cagey but have got used to the southpaw stance. If he wants a fight then it is great for me but I’m not expecting that. Craig is a big, strong boy and he was holding the centre of the ring and we had really competitive spars, you don’t need to say anymore about Ryan Rhodes, just look at his ability.”
Sky Sports 2 and HD2 televise from 10pm.
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