Gavin McDonnell says trainer Dave Coldwell has already made him a better fighter
Thursday 22 October 2015 19:35, UK
Gavin McDonnell believes switching to Dave Coldwell has already made him a better fighter.
The European super-bantamweight champion fights under his new trainer for the first time on Saturday night when he defends his title against Jeremy Parodi, live on Sky Sports.
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Coldwell used to manage McDonnell's twin brother Jamie and became Gavin's stand-in trainer around six months ago, when former trainer Dave Hulley was unable to fly out to America three weeks ahead of the WBA bantamweight champion's first clash with Tomoki Kameda.
Gavin had not even been managed by Coldwell before but, after spending three weeks alongside him in the run-up to his twin's first world title defence, the 29-year-old asked him to train him as soon as he returned home. Jamie was away on holiday at the time but followed his brother's move, giving Coldwell full-time duties.
And making his 'team debut' against Frenchman Parodi (32-2-1-KO9) in Sheffield on Saturday, Gavin already feels he has improved.
"You probably won't see it against Parodi, but I am already making improvements and it's not just how I feel, it's what people in and around me are seeing in me," he told Sky Sports.
"It's a positive thing with Dave. There is a new, positive approach to training but also we have now got a nutritionist in and it is like a new lease of life - especially for our kid.
"Dave knows his stuff and has shown us things that we haven't seen before. We are getting a lot of outside sparring, we are going all over the place and I think it's been fantastic. I am thoroughly enjoying my boxing.
Dave knows his stuff and has shown us things that we haven't seen before. We are getting a lot of outside sparring, we are going all over the place and I think it's been fantastic. I am thoroughly enjoying my boxing
"You might not see it in my next fight or my next two fights because it does take time and we've only been there two or three months but I can feel the improvements in myself, I feel a lot stronger and there are loads of little things coming on."
Coldwell admits it is "fun" to work with the McDonnell twins, who have joined cruiserweight challenger Tony Bellew in his stable.
The trainer believes Saturday night will be the toughest test of Gavin's 15-fight career but while they both predict a big improvement further down the line, the man in his corner is already expecting to see the benefits.
"I've had two fights with Jamie now really and this is the first one with Gavin but he has worked alongside Jamie, together, so we're all nicely settled in," he said.
"People like that, I could work with all day long. They put the effort in, they listen and they do what they told. I don't just tell fighters what to do, I explain to them but at times when you are sparring, you're not actually conscious of the changes you've made - you just start to repeat, repeat, repeat.
"I'll be honest with you - I never really rated him as a fighter before. He pushed his punches out rather than snapped them out and his right hand was never straight. It was always pushed. He leaned forward with his hands up.
"We've gone back to basics. How to jab and move your head. Throw a right hand properly and throw body shots. It's a work in progress and you will see an improved fighter. People like Ryan Burnett and Gamal Yafai have sparred him and I think they were surprised how much he's improved."
With Bellew back in action in December and Jamie already admitting he wants to fight again sooner rather than later, Gavin is happy to follow in their footsteps - once he has got past the experienced Parodi.
He has already said his brother has set the bar high and is an inspiration but with a new-found confidence under Coldwell's charge, he not only wants to win a world title but box out in America.
"I'd love to," he said. "It's every fighter's dream to be a world champion and go and fight in and crack America.
"I've got to be honest though, I would rather it wasn't Texas. Apart from training and sleeping, there wasn't much to do. There was certainly no sight-seeing!
"We got told Jamie's second one was going to be in New York but then about a week before, we were told we were going back to Texas so I do think we are due a big fight city like Vegas or New York, even Los Angeles. I would love to be part of that, somewhere where we can enjoy the surrounds a little bit more if I'm not fighting!"
Watch Jamie McDonnell v Jeremy Parodi as well as Chris Eubabnk Jr v Tony Jeter, live on Sky Sports 1, from 8.00pm on Saturday.
