Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan
Saturday January 11, Irish boxer Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (30-3, 21 KO’s) will look to claim one major scalp. Under the hot lights of the Alamodome, located in San Antonio, Texas, Spike will face the challenge of the hard-hitting former world champion Jaime Munguia (34-0, 27 KO’s). Munguia is moving up from super welterweight to see how his body and fighting style react to the six additional pounds.
CHASING THE MONEY AND NAMES
If asked, Spike O’Sullivan is rather upfront and candid about the fact that he is no true middleweight fighter. Some might find this admission to be odd considering the greater bulk of his fights over the past few years have been contested at middle or super middleweight.
In spite of this fact, O’ Sullivan insists that his optimum performance weight is down at super welterweight. Yet, just like fisherman at sea, often times boxers must go and perform where the competition is biting.
Lately, and for some time now, the superior opportunities were to be found at middleweight. Now, once again Spike will traverse the treacherous waters of the 160lbs division as he explained to FightHype.
“I started off as a junior middleweight and I got an opportunity at middleweight. And I went up there and won a title and I stayed there and opportunities arose a little bit. I recently dropped back to junior middleweight myself, but I got the call to move back to middleweight for this fight. So it’s a big opportunity for me, so I was glad to do it.”
WELL PREPARED
O’ Sullivan understands that Munguia has a substantial fan base and is backed by Golden Boy Promotions. Therefore he realizes that there are likely going to be a lot of eyes on this fight. So, an impressive victory would go very far in advancing his name in the boxing world.
Bearing this all in mind, Spike didn’t skimp on any of his training or preparation. In fact, this most recent camp has left O’Sullivan feeling very focused and ready for whatever Jamie Munguia has to offer.
“He’s a big star, you know. I brought in sparring partners specifically similar to Munguia…most stylistically similar to Munguia and we brought them in and prepared with them. So I feel well prepared and ready to fight…
I think there is a lot of pressure on him for this fight. He is the clear favorite, he’s undefeated fighter, it’s his hometown. All the pressure is on him so I feel relaxed about it. I’m well-prepared and I feel confident.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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