Dave Coldwell, the trainer of Gavin McDonnell (16-0-2, 4 early), hopes that his man can secure home advantage when he meets Mexico’s undefeated contender Rey Vargas (28-0, 22 KOs) for the vacant WBC World Super bantamweight belt in 2017. The WBC made the match-up at this week’s convention after former holder Hozumi Hasegawa retired.
They are rated number one and two respectively by the WBC, and Coldwell has asked promoter Eddie Hearn to bring the bout to the U.K. “We’ve already said to Eddie Hearn it’s a fight we want here,” he said when speaking to Sky Sports.
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“Let’s be real, Gav is not a massive puncher so are we going to win on points out in Mexico? It’s highly doubtful but if that’s what we’ve got to do, that’s what we’ll do. He will be fighting for the same belt that the likes of [Eric] Morales and [Marco Antonio] Barrera have fought for, so it is such a great opportunity.”
McDonnell, 30, won the vacant WBC Silver Super bantamweight title via a decision over Jorge Sanchez in February then had another outing in September, an eight-round decision win over Robin Zamora. The Doncaster-based boxer has rattled off five wins since drawing with Josh Wale in 2015.
Vargas picked up the WBC International Silver super bantamweight title in his last fight, a fifth-round TKO over Alexander Munoz in September and the 26-year-old has only fought outside of his native Mexico on one occasion, a fourth-round KO win over Juanito Rubillar in California in August 2013, so his team will also be vying for home advantage.
