Jamie McDonnell turns to Nigel Benn's former trainer

Doncaster's British, Commonwealth and European bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell will start his 2012 campaign under the eye of a new trainer - the vastly experienced Kevin Sanders.

The Peterborough Evening Telegraph reports that the 54 year-old trainer has been lured out of a two-year retirement by a lucrative offer from McDonnell's promoter Dennis Hobson - and that the boxer will be travelling to the trainer's Cambridgeshire gym rather than Saunders trekking up north.

“Jamie is a very accomplished fighter. He’s got everything. He can box and he’s a puncher but just needs to be taught a few more things to take him up to world title level,” Sanders told his local paper.

“I’ve got to get him there and I am confident I can do it. We’ll start work together early in January, initially in Peterborough and take it from there.

“Dennis Hobson looked at loads of trainers to do the job, but at the end of the day approached me and that’s flattering.  It all happened a couple of weeks ago when I was in Las Vegas for the World Boxing Council congress. Dennis and Jamie were there and I did a bit of work on the pads with Jamie.

“They both liked what they saw of me and I liked the look of Jamie. Dennis then made me an offer I couldn’t refuse so here I am back in business.

“I enjoyed the two-year break, but now I can’t wait to get back into it. I put on a few stones so it’ll be nice to get back in the gym and get my weight down a bit.

“I had many, many offers to return, but this one really stood out and was the only offer to tempt me to come back.  At the moment it’s just one boxer under my wing, but who knows what will happen? I think Matt Skelton (formerly a Sanders fighter) would love to fight again so that’s something else I might get into.”  

Sanders had his first title success when Gary De Roux won the British featherweight crown in 1991 but he's best known for his stint as Nigel Benn’s trainer in the mid-90s.

McDonnell's next fight is a hometown defence of his EBU title against Malik Bouziane on 18th February.