It was a return to winning ways for Doncaster’s Gavin McDonnell against Simas Volosinas last week in Doncaster as he took the first step towards returning to title class following his loss earlier this year to Rey Vargas. McDonnell is desperate to return to the lofty heights he experienced back in February and although the passage back there is likely to face sterner tests, his trainer Dave Coldwell was happy with how his charge rebounded.
"It was good to get him back in the ring again as we want to be back fighting for titles really soon. Gavin has had a few months off and he's done a lot of positive reflecting regarding his loss to Vargas. A lot of people forget the jump he has taken in his career and he's had to grow up really quick going from domestic to world class in the space of a couple of fights. The Vargas fight began horribly and Gavin made a slow start but he grew into the fight and he showed me things that give me a lot of hope for the future. He's had his comeback fight now so I'm hoping we can all sit down now and try and get him back into the mix."
Coldwell added, "There's plenty of big fights out there for Gavin and he's got a good set of people around him working hard to get him those opportunities. Last week was all about getting him into the ring and taking shots again and getting rid of any rust. He's back to winning again and he enjoyed himself in there. People forget we've only been working together for a few fights but he's took massive strides and he's improving all the time. I'm liking what I see from him in the gym and I think people will soon start to recognise just how good he is."
Coldwell was a delighted figure at Ringside on Saturday night as lightweight charge, Lee Appleyard, captured the English lightweight title with a sixth round stoppage over Steve Brogan following a thrilling battle that delivered plenty of action. Appleyard, who under Coldwell's guidance has experienced a variety of title chances, extinguished the dissapointment of his recent challenge to Sean Dodd where he just fell short and now with the English strap in his possession, Coldwell believes the victory can elevate him to a higher platform.
"I'm ecstatic for Lee because he's someone who has the perfect attitude for this sport. That Dodd defeat hurt him bad but he went straight back the gym and was rewarded with another chance against a competent fighter. He's not in this sport to make the numbers up and he fully believes that he can compete for titles on a regular basis. He wanted this fight bad and he wanted the belt bad and he showed how much it meant to him as he came in tonight in brilliant shape and and let everyone know what he's capable of and I couldn't be happier for him."
Coldwell added, "The plan now is to keep him fighting for titles and to show everyone how good a fighter he really is. Everyone knows my philosophy when it comes to matching fighters and if a fighter loses a couple of times but it gives them that valuable experience then so be it. Lee Appleyard has proven that and look at him now. He was in against a good durable opponent and although he loaded up and didn't pick his shots as well as I'd have liked, he improved as the fight wore on and forced a really impressive stoppage. I'm over the moon for the kid and his victory is a reward for all his hard work."
