Rhodes hopes successful European defence will lead to world title shot
On Friday night the Ponds Forge Arena in Sheffield will host Ryan Rhodes’ first defence of his European light-middleweight title he won from Jamie Moore in October last year. His opponent, making his first trip over to England, comes in the way of experienced Italian Luca Messi (36-7-1).
Fight fans were kept on the edge of their seats when Rhodes stopped Moore in the seventh round at the Bolton Arena following a titantic struggle. This will be Ryan’s first outing since that fight, and debut for new promoter Ricky Hatton who stages tomorrow's show, and he is expecting to put on another great spectacle for his army of loyal supporters.
Rhodes (43-4) has been patiently waiting in the wings for a world title shot and Friday’s fight is vital in regards to him keeping his top 10 world ranking with sanctioning bodies the WBC and IBF.
”The fight with Jamie (Moore) seems like a lifetime ago. Since then I’ve just been ticking over in the gym waiting for my next fight to be made. But obviously due to (promotional) circumstances I wasn’t able to fight,” explained Rhodes to BoxRec News.
Messi brings a respectable record over to Sheffield and has challenged for major honours in the past, notably an unsuccessful WBA world title shot in 2005. The Rhodes camp have done their homework on Messi and are expecting a stern challenge from the Italian.
”We tried to get some videos of him but wasn’t able to so I have just been watching bits of him on the internet. From what I can see it looks like he comes to fight, he throws a lot of punches and maintains a high pace. I think it will be an interesting fight.”
Preparation has all gone to plan for this fight as the fighters from David Coldwell’s gym in Rotherham have whipped Ryan into perfect shape once again
“Training has gone fantastic. Sparring has been brilliant and my weight is perfect, too. I couldn’t have asked for a better preparation. It’s a real good crack in the gym which we share with a lot of cage fighters, the atmosphere is fantastic," revealed Rhodes.
At 33, making the light-middleweight 11 stone limit is proving easier than when Ryan was in his 20’s. ”This sounds crazy but I’m making light-middle better now than I was when I was 20 years-old. Everybody asks how I’m doing it but it's all about realising what works for your own body. I know what food works for me and what doesn’t suit me. I know McDonalds doesn’t suit me," joked Rhodes.
“I always keep a close check on what I’m eating whether in training camp or not. At my age it would take me a lot longer to get back into top condition than it would for someone in their early 20’s. Its all about experience over the years when you get to learn about your body. I’m still training hard like the younger kids in the gym so there’s no worries in that department," he continued.
Ryan is on the brink of a world title shot but recognises he cannot look past Friday's fight. ”This is my first defence of the European title, I’m really happy that I'm defending it, it’s a fantastic title to have but my ultimate goal is to fight for a world title. Not that I’m looking past Messi on Friday, I always take it one fight at a time and I’m concentrating on making my a successful first defence.”
Sergio Martinez currently holds both the light-middleweight and middleweight WBC belts and the governing body is expecting a decision from Martinez in the near future on which belt he intends to keep. If Martinez chooses to stay at middleweight this will open the door for Ryan towards some potential clashes with some of the biggest names in boxing.
“It all depends on what Martinez does and which title he vacates. I think (Jesus)Chavez Jnr is moving up to middleweight to fight John Duddy. (Kermit) Cintron has just had that fight with (Paul) Williams and we all know what happened there (Cintron crashed through the ropes WWE style onto a press table and was unable to continue) so that only really leaves me and Antonio Margarito and what a fight that would be. That would be a real mouthwatering fight for the vacant WBC light-middleweight title," speculated Rhodes.
“Myself talking about fighting Margarito feels like a bit of a fantasy but he’s number three and I’m number four so I don’t see why not. I think there are more money fights for Martinez up at middleweight but he has been moving up and down the weights so we will see. I think in the next three or four weeks he has to decide which title to keep.”
Ryan recently signed for Hatton promotions and he is very happy with the way things are looking and is confident that the fledging promotional outfit can deliver the big fights that he is craving.
“I’ve had three or four meetings with the Hattons and each of them have been really positive. What I want, they can provide. I have seen nothing to make me think that they cannot make big fights for me. Ricky was a fantastic champion and with the contacts he has got with other promoters and world governing bodies I’m sure he will be able to get me a shot at the WBC or even the IBF as I’m ranked number 4 with them.”
Ryan’s career has been a rollercoaster of success to date and he offered a look back at a couple of his most satisfying wins. ”Winning my first British title against Paul Jones was obviously fantastic, he was the WBO world champion before I beat him, so stopping him was a great achievement. More recently it has to be the Jamie Moore fight."
"Everyone wrote me off for that fight, they all said that Jamie would do me in three or four rounds. I was a complete underdog in the fight. The thing is I knew that I would win. My trainer Dave Coldwell and my conditioner Mark Willie all knew exactly what I could do and they knew I would win it.”
When asked his view on the outcome of Friday's bout Ryan was very sure in his answer. ”A definite win, 100%. If a KO comes it's a bonus but I’m focused on the win.”
Rhodes-Messi headlines this Hatton Promotions bill which will be televised live on on Friday from 10pm.
