On 12th December 2015, Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan was forced to retire on his stool after a seven-round war with Chris Eubank Jnr. Now, healed up and ready to go, Spike looks to get back to winning ways on September 17th against an as-yet-unnamed opponent. The fight will take place in New Hampshire, USA. I sat down last week to speak with him about the upcoming fight, and what we have to look forward to in the future.
Spike is promoted by US-based Murphys Boxing and so has been scheduled several times to fight ‘across the pond’, including a fight at the famous Madison Square Garden. I questioned Spike on what the main difference was between fighting at home and fighting in the states and he told me that it was simply the heat. He advised me that he’d usually like to fly out earlier to acclimatise and get comfortable before the fight, but due to his partner expecting a child, he will be staying at home for slightly longer than he would usually like to.
Assuming O’Sullivan can come through his next fight as the victor, then there may be a potential fight with former Olympic Bronze Medallist on the horizon. Anthony Ogogo mentioned Spike’s name as a potential opponent in a recent interview, but has seemed reluctant to make this fight ever since the proposal was accepted.
“I think he’s scared stiff,” O’Sullivan told Britishboxers.co.uk. “I think he’d had a few drinks and got a bit brave the night he called me out. He’s had more experience now, he’s an Olympic medallist and it’s a fight I’d be very interested in.
“He’s embarrassing himself, he says he’s above me. His promoters said I need to get a ‘W’ on my record, but if you look at the other opponents that he’s fighting, they don’t compare to my resume. Hopefully a win at the weekend means we’ll be able to make it.”
It turns out there is more to this rivalry than meets the eye, O’Sullivan told me that Ogogo had fought his brother in the amateurs several years ago and that the fight came to a controversial conclusion. “My brother was winning in the amateurs, he was comfortably ahead and he (Ogogo) did some manoeuvre on my brother’s back and he ended up leaving the fight on a stretcher—I’d love to get revenge’,” he revealed.
The hard-hitting fighter also questioned the strength of Ogogo’s chin, telling me that: “I’ve heard that he was wobbled just from one of George Groves’ jabs.”
However, it appears that O’Sullivan will apply the same persistence that he showed in chasing a fight with Chris Eubank Jnr. “I think he’ll either accept the fight or I’ll embarrass him into retirement,” he said.
“If I can’t get him in the ring then I’ll turn up at a press conference and give him a slap or something.”
It seems that ‘The Dancing Queen’, as his would-be-foe calls him, should prepare himself for the Shannon Briggs treatment should O’Sullivan get his way.
Spike has been vocal on social media about a rematch with Chris Eubank Jnr, I asked if there was something that he had spotted in the last fight that had given him confidence for a second fight, to which he replied: “I think the fight could go differently if I fought him again.
“He busted my eardrum in the second round and that’s very disorientating, it almost affects your vision. I couldn’t see the shots coming. I’d love the opportunity to fight him again. I think he was very relieved when I didn’t come out for the eigth round, he was panicking, his legs buckled about three times and he knew he was in a fight.”
It’s unlikely that this fight would happen anytime soon with the two seemingly on different paths, but it’s certainly an entertaining fight that could be an exciting watch in the future.
Another fight that Spike has been vocal about previously is a match up with one of the pound-for-pound best fighters on the planet, Gennady Golovkin. I asked if it was still a fight that he would be happy to take, to which he responded: “He’s far too widely avoided.
“Most are beaten before they get in the ring, I certainly wouldn’t be beaten before I get in the ring, he’s only human, and he hasn’t got a steel neck. I believe I can knock anyone out if I land cleanly. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great champion, but I’d love the opportunity to share the ring with him.”
This is a polar opposite to most others, who seem to be doing their best to run away from GGG, rather than run towards him. It’s clear that O’Sullivan really does have one punch power, as demonstrated in his one round destruction of Anthony Fitzgerald, so with a few wins under his belt you wouldn’t rule out a fight happening between the pair, certainly stranger things have happened.
