John O'Donnell (boxer)

Last updated

John O'Donnell
Born
John O'Donnell

(1985-11-13) 13 November 1985 (age 39)
Nationality Irish
Statistics
Weight(s) Welterweight
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights36
Wins33
Wins by KO11
Losses3
Draws0

John O'Donnell (born 13 November 1985) is a London-based Irish Traveller professional boxer who is a former holder of the Commonwealth welterweight championship.

Contents

Professional boxing career

Early professional career

O'Donnell, had his first professional in April 2004 with a win over journeyman Jason Nesbitt at the Penningtons Nightclub in Bradford. Over the next three years he would fight 13 more times without defeat against a series of journeymen opponents before earning the right to fight for the English title in May 2007. His opponent for the vacant English belt was fellow unbeaten prospect Stuart Elwell. The fight ended with a 10 round points victory for O'Donnell. [1] [2] Following his win over Elwell, O'Donnell next travelled to Las Vegas in May 2007 to fight Mexican Christian Solano on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather's fight with Oscar De La Hoya. [3] The bout ended with disappointment for the 15-0 prospect after the fight was stopped in the 2nd round giving victory to the Mexican. [4] Such was the devastating nature of the defeat, O'Donnell took a year off from boxing and only returned in May 2008 with a win over journeyman Billy Smith. Four more victories followed in 2008 before being given the chance to fight for the Commonwealth title in 2009. [2]

Commonwealth champion

O'Donnell's shot at a first major title came on 11 April 2009. In the opposite corner, the champion Craig Watson, had himself claimed the title with a win over Namibian Ali Nuumbembe and made one defence against Matthew Hatton, the brother of Ricky. It was a step up in class for O'Donnell and he signaled his entry into the top tier of domestic boxing with victory over Watson via a split decision in what was described as a close and scintillating contest. [2] [5] O'Donnell had been due to make the first defence of his newly won title on 5 September 2009 but due to problems making the weight had to settle for a non-title contest over 12 rounds against Tom Glover. The fight, shown live on ITV4, was too much of a step-up for Glover who was stopped in the 6th round with O'Donnell having taken full control. [6] O'Donnell gave up the belt after coming under pressure from the Commonwealth council after a mandatory defence scheduled for 5 March 2010 against the Ghanaian boxer Philip Kotey fell through. [7] On 7 May 2010 he stepped back into the ring to defeat Hungarian boxer Laszlo Balogh in the 5th round of an 8 round contest stating after the fight that he would like to meet Paul McCloskey in an all Irish contest for the European title. [8] On 10 September 2010 O'Donnell fought the American former Olympic bronze medal winner Terrance Cauthen in an international contest at the York Hall. Winning the fight over 12 rounds O'Donnell claimed that Cauthen was the best boxer he had ever faced and that the reason why he gave up his Commonwealth belt was "because my team did not want that belt to hold me back, so I could go onto the next level". [9]

British title challenge

On 19 February 2011 O'Donnell met former victim Craig Watson at the Wembley Arena to challenge for the vacant British title only for Watson to gain revenge by winning over 12 rounds. [10]

Professional record

32 Wins (11 knockouts, 21 decisions), 2 Losses (1 knockout, 1 decision)
Res.RecordOpponentTypeRd., TimeDateLocationNotes
Win32-2 Flag of England.svg Erick Ochieng SD102017-03-18 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, EnglandWon vacant Commonwealth English Welterweight title.
Win31-2 Flag of England.svg Tommy TearPTS102016-10-01 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, EnglandWon vacant Commonwealth Southern Area Welterweight title.
Win30-2 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jan BalogPTS62015-12-05 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win29-2 Flag of Hungary.svg Laszlo FazekasPTS82015-05-02 Ulster Banner.svg Lavey Centre, Derry, Northern Ireland
Win28-2 Flag of England.svg Jay MorrisPTS42013-07-06 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win27-2 Ulster Banner.svg Stephen Haughian PTS82012-12-01 Ulster Banner.svg Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Win26-2 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Thomas MendezUD82012-10-12 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win25-2 Flag of England.svg Martin WelshPTS82012-04-14 Ulster Banner.svg Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Loss24-2 Flag of England.svg Craig Watson UD122011-02-19 Flag of England.svg Wembley Arena, Wembley, EnglandFor vacant Commonwealth British Welterweight title.
Win24-1 Flag of the United States.svg Terrance Cauthen PTS122010-09-10 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win23-1 Flag of Hungary.svg Laszlo Robert BaloghTKO5 (8), 2:562010-05-07 Flag of England.svg Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, England
Win22-1 Flag of England.svg Tom GloverTKO6 (12), 2:432009-09-05 Flag of England.svg Colosseum, Watford, England
Win21-1 Flag of England.svg Craig Watson SD122009-04-11 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, EnglandWon Commonwealth (British Empire) Welterweight title.
Win20-1 Flag of Germany.svg Suleyman DagTKO3 (6), 1:032008-11-15 Flag of Ireland.svg Breaffy House Resort, Castlebar, Ireland
Win19-1 Flag of Latvia.svg Sergejs SayrinovicsRTD3 (8), 3:002008-10-04 Flag of England.svg Norwich Showground, Norwich, England
Win18-1 Flag of Latvia.svg Sergejs VolodinsTKO5 (6)2008-07-19 Flag of Ireland.svg University Arena, Limerick, Ireland
Win17-1 Flag of England.svg Jay MorrisTKO6 (6), 2:442008-06-27 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win16-1 Flag of England.svg Billy SmithPTS42008-05-10 Flag of England.svg Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England
Loss15-1 Flag of Mexico.svg Christian SolanoTKO2 (8), 1:502007-05-05 Flag of the United States.svg MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win15-0 Flag of England.svg Stuart Elwell PTS102007-03-23 Flag of England.svg Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, EnglandWon vacant BBBofC English Welterweight title.
Win14-0 Flag of England.svg Ernie SmithKO2 (8), 2:202006-12-08 Flag of England.svg Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, England
Win13-0 Flag of Niger.svg Silence SaheedPTS62006-09-15 Flag of England.svg Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, England
Win12-0 Flag of England.svg Darren GethinPTS82006-07-12 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win11-0 Flag of England.svg Duncan CottierRTD3 (8)2006-05-12 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win10-0 Flag of England.svg Karl TaylorPTS42006-02-17 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win9-0 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Zaid BediouriPTS62006-01-28 Flag of Ireland.svg National Boxing Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
Win8-0 Flag of England.svg Matt ScrivenTKO4 (6), 0:512006-01-20 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win7-0 Flag of England.svg Ben HudsonPTS42005-10-21 Flag of England.svg York Hall, Bethnal Green, England
Win6-0 Flag of England.svg Ben HudsonTKO3 (6)2005-07-09 Flag of England.svg Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England
Win5-0 Flag of England.svg Duncan CottierPTS42005-04-10 Flag of England.svg Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, Essex, England
Win4-0 Flag of England.svg Ernie SmithPTS62004-11-12 Flag of England.svg Conference Centre, Wembley, England
Win3-0 Flag of England.svg Chris LongTKO4 (6), 0:442004-09-24 Flag of England.svg Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England
Win2-0 Flag of England.svg Dave HindsPTS42004-06-12 Flag of England.svg Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, England
Win1-0 Flag of England.svg Jason NesbittPTS42004-04-16 Flag of England.svg Town and Country Club, Leeds, England

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References

  1. Boxrec. "John O'Donnell". Boxrec Fighter Page. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 Thomas Myler. "Craig Watson defeats John O'Donnell". Doghouse Boxing. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  3. Livefight | O'Donnell & Murray on Oscar undercard [ permanent dead link ]
  4. "Sporting Life | O'Donnell will hit back". Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  5. "BBC Sport | O'Donnell stuns Watson in a classic". 11 April 2009. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  6. Boxing Scene | O'Donnell stops and overmatched Glover
  7. Boxing News | Mark Thompson and Thomas McDonagh handed title chances Archived 16 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Boxing Scene | O'Donnell stops Balogh
  9. "Hackney Gazette | Hackney fighter O'Donnell too good for Cauthen". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  10. Sporting Life | Watson gains revenge on O'Donnell Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
Preceded by Commonwealth Welterweight Champion
11 April 2009 – 16 April 2010
Succeeded by