By Terence Dooley
Top British trainer Dave Coldwell takes Ryan Rhodes into a make-or-break showdown with European light-middleweight champion Jamie Moore this Friday night. Rhodes and Moore clash at the Bolton Arena in fight that doubles-up as a WBC title eliminator, the winner could fight for the WBC belt within the next year – Moore is currently ranked #3 and Ryan is sitting at #7 in the latest WBC rankings.
Coldwell was a fighter himself; he compiled a 6-13 (2) slate before retiring and moving into training, promotion and management. Dave is currently the Head of Boxing over at Hayemaker Promotions; at the moment, though, Coldwell is fully focussed on the Moore clash. Dave told us that Rhodes, who relinquished the British title earlier this year, is looking great in training.
“Ryan is looking good,” confirmed Coldwell. “Ryan is really up for it. There were days when he was tired and he was really pushing himself through the endurance sessions I had set-up for him. He’s beating his previous training times and there is a real physical improvement, he’s beating the young kids in training.”
Moore versus Rhodes is a dream come true for British fans. Jamie holds the Euro belt; he gave up the British belt back in 2008 and the Salfordian has also held the Commonwealth title. Ryan turned professional way back in 1995; he won the British title in his eleventh fight before moving up in weight to unsuccessfully contest the vacant WBO middleweight title with Otis Grant.
Rhodes’ career looked over after a third-round KO loss to Lee Blundell in 2002 only for the fighter to defy the odds and win the British title with a stunning KO of Gary Woolcombe in 2008.
Moore and Rhodes could easily have held onto their rankings and lobbied the WBC for an easy title shot but they have, instead, decided to put it all on the line in order to satisfy the fans, leaving Coldwell feeling nothing but admiration for both guys.
“Let’s be right, they both could have gone different ways and tried to go for the world title and defended against each other,” said Coldwell. “People talk up these big fights and say they’ll make them down the line but shit happens and the fights don’t made. When we heard about this shot we were delighted. It says a lot about them both, especially Jamie Moore, he is European champion and number three with the WBC – so he has got a lot to lose. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Jamie Moore to be honest.
“We’ve been fans of Jamie for his entire career. He’s a good old-fashioned fighter and we’ve always looked out for him. It is sad that one man’s dream is going to get smashed to bits. As a boxing fan you look at Jamie and the ups-and-downs that he and Ryan have had and you want him to get to that world title. Jamie should be up there proving a lot of people wrong, it is sad that they’ve got to face each other.”
Moore exclusively told Boxingscene that Rhodes has never come turned a fight once it slips away from him. Jamie has been to the brink, his rubbermatch with Michael Jones saw him dropped twice in round three before roaring back to stop the Liverpudlian in the sixth. Coldwell was philosophical when told of Moore’s claim.
“No you can’t really argue with that,” he said. “Every fight Ryan’s won he’s won fairly handily. Then again you have the Gary Lockett fight. Ryan just being in the ring that night was quite a challenge – stuff went on in the build-up and you couldn’t believe that he was in there that night. People thought he was going to get knocked out but he boxed well and gave Lockett a lot of problems – that is coming through adversity. Doing the twelve rounds was a feat and he did that, plus he had Lockett in trouble.
“You can’t argue with Jamie, Ryan’s not been hurt in fights or losing and had to turn a fight around but you can see that as a testament to Ryan’s ability. Ryan’s not been bashed up and had to come through things but that’s not something that’s worrying us. Ryan went up against Otis Grant and he came through that tough fight without taking a beating, he didn’t get knocked out he just lost on points.
“When Ryan took on Jason Matthews things went wrong and he got caught by a massive fella and got beat, but that is it. It doesn’t have any bearing on his ability to come back from Jamie’s shot. I’m not sat here saying, ‘Ryan’s been through all these wars and he’s been battered and come back’ and so what if I was? Ryan isn’t going to be getting battered in this fight so all that makes no difference to us.”
Rhodes has been plagued by back problems. The pain was at its peak prior to the fight with Lockett in 2006. Gary was the WBU middleweight champion at the time, he was knocking guys out and he was the home fighter, people feared the worse for Ryan. Dave believes that Ryan came through adversity, and more, that night.
“We’ve never gone into that but it well-documented that Ryan has got back problems so he did great to be in there that night,” revealed Coldwell. “He got beat fair and square and we’d never try to take anything away from Gary Lockett. Ryan lost that night but he has come back from it.”
Ryan has had more comebacks than Lazarus. Coldwell agreed when I put it to him that it is remarkable that Ryan is still going strong. “Of course,” he agreed.
“Let’s be honest. We talk about Ryan Rhodes four years ago and people thought he’d retired, then he comes back and takes on Lockett and gets beat and then comes back again to win titles, and he looks good when he’s winning them. Ryan’s in a massive fight once again and it is part of a great comeback.”
He continued: “Jamie Moore is not invincible. He is a not Superman. He’s a strong pressure fighter with a massive will to win; he’s done really well to get to where he is now. I’m not taking anything away from Jamie but he has been dropped and badly hurt. People go on about Ryan but the guys who’ve dropped Ryan can punch a bit – let’s not compare Michael Jones to Jason Matthews. Jamie has been hurt, he’s been dropped and that can happen again in this fight.
“People think Jamie is going to walk through Ryan and smash him to bits, that is a tangible and I’ve told Ryan that this might have to be the point in his life where he gets hurt and has to come through – we’ve had those discussions. I don’t think that Jamie has ever met anyone who hits as hard as Ryan does or who boxes as well as RYan. You get guys who are one-dimensional but can punch, you get guys who can box but they can’t punch – Ryan can do both. He can whack like fuck, let’s be honest about this. Jamie hasn’t faced that before.”
Rhodes lost by 112-115, 112-114 and 111-117 in the fight with Lockett, he was hit with hard shots but kept coming back at Lockett, who was freakishly strong at the weight. “Lockett is a rock,” remarked Coldwell.
“Gary has genuine on-punch middleweight power and a fantastic chin. Ryan took his bombs and shocked everyone. Ryan also made Lockett box and move. There is a difference between walking through people when they’ve just come to give it a go and someone who has come to win, and who can punch.
“Jamie is in for a bit of a shock. He isn’t stupid, he won’t get hit with bombs and charge through, if he does he gets hit by more bombs. Ryan hits harder than Scott Dixon, Michael Jones and Andrew Facey, he has got so many different plans for this fight. Ryan could box him, he could catch him early, Jamie could swarm on Ryan and get hit by a bomb - this is one of those fights where anything can happen. Everyone is excited because this fight is one of those fifty-fifty fights.”
Rhodes is seen as the old man in this contest, he is 32 to Jamie’s 30, with an additional four years of ring experience; Coldwell sees this experience as a plus, rather than the minus some pundits make it out to be. “Exactly, Ryan is two-years older, experienced across the levels and he hasn’t had to come back from having wars and adversity, he is fresh,” said Coldwell.
“That is a good point; I’d rather have a fresh fighter in my corner. No disrespect to Jamie, I like and respect him loads, I was up-and-down on my sofa when he fought Macklin, but you have to remember that this is Jamie’s biggest fight, it is not Ryan Rhodes biggest fight. Ryan has fought for a world title before. He’s been there and done that against Otis Grant. People have expected Ryan to get hammered before and he’s proved them wrong. Jamie Moore has never fought at that level. The thing that makes this fight so big is that it is Jamie Moore against Ryan Rhodes, not Jamie Moore against Bradley Pryce or anyone else.”
“This is a real clash of styles,” Coldwell enthused. “Can Jamie Moore overcome Ryan’s style? Can Ryan overcome Jamie Moore? That is what it is all about. Jamie is ranked with the WBC, he has the European title and it is in his own backyard, we are coming there with nothing to lose, which makes Ryan dangerous for Jamie. Don’t forget, Ryan Rhodes was seen as done and dusted four-years ago, then he gets beaten by Lockett and they all think he’s done again. Ryan is on bonus time at this point in his career, and he knows this, he appreciates his career now. There is no pressure.
“We want to fight for the WBC title and become European champion but Ryan has been to the top before, Jamie gets beaten and he’s lost everything, everything. He will always be the man who never quite got there. Me and Ryan always said that Jamie should have fought for a world title before now. I feel so sorry that Jamie has to put all that to risk. He gets beat and he won’t get that world title shot, which is so hard on Jamie.
“Ryan has got everything to gain. He wants what Jamie has got and to beat him in front of his own fans. Jamie just wants to get this fight out of the way so he can finally fight for a world title. That in essence is the fight for you. The pressure is not on us.”
Coldwell came up with the perfect plan in the Vuma fight, instructing his man to counter punch Vincent out of the fight and pile up points using smart punch picking. Dave believes that they have worked out how to beat Moore a few times over; if plan A fails Ryan will switch to plans B, C and D. “We’ve worked on it panning out a number of ways,” confided Coldwell.
“If Ryan is against the ropes we have something for that. If Jamie is punching on the inside we have something for that. Ryan can bomb with the best of them but he is a boxer, a box-fighter, and if the gameplan goes into practice then in my eyes he will fight the perfect fight. I’m looking forward to it.
“Some people think the longer it goes the more it suits Jamie and the other way around. Jamie could come out bombing early doors and Ryan could meet him in that way. Ryan is prepared for it all. We’ve had a chat about it being a really tough fight and Ryan coming through it, he knows all this and is relishing this fight – it is a massive fight, winner takes all.
“You don’t get many boxers who put themselves through what Ryan has been through for this fight, contrary to what people think Ryan is coming to win, to beat Jamie, he isn’t just here to give it a go. Michel Piccirillo came and fought and ran as an old man, Jamie walked straight through him and you’d expect that.
“Michael Jones dropped Jamie Moore and thought, ‘Fuck me, I’ve got him!’ and he throws non-stop punches. That was stupid. Jones was experienced in fights but inexperienced in putting people on the floor and finishing them. Jamie came back in the same round but he came back because Jones had thrown so many punches and had punched himself out.
“If Ryan drops Jamie he won’t be shocked. He won’t panic and throw shots and allow Jamie to come back strong. Ryan has got brains and experience, he also has power and is used to putting people down. I think that there are shocks in store during this fight. It is going to be exciting.”
Rhodes will be coming into the lions den on Friday night; the Bolton Arena will be filled with Moore fans, all baying for Ryan’s blood. Coldwell, though, believes that his man will stick to the plan.
“The atmosphere will be electric and we’ll find out who can hold their nerve,” said Coldwell. “If Ryan sticks to his gameplan he wins this fight. I think Jamie is starting to do a bit of switching lately but we are ready for that. If Jamie thinks a bit of switching will befuddle Ryan he’ll get a shock, we’ve seen that and it won’t cause us any confusion. We expect Jamie to be strong; he’ll be as strong as an ox because Kerry Kayes is a master at what he does. But will Jamie be shocked when he feels Ryan’s strength and when Ryan hits him on the chin? We shall see - it is going to be good.”
Sky Sports 1 televise here in the UK from 10pm on Friday night.
