Jamie McDonnell - What now??

Yesterday it was reported that he had cut ties with Dennis Hobson and a few people were expecting him to sign with Matchroom.

But now it has been confirmed that Stephen Smith signed with Matchroom so McDonnell is currently a world champion in limbo.

Not the biggest draw on the planet and a virtual unknown in the British Sporting scene, what does he do now??

He has to defend the belt soon, so hows this going to take place with him not having a manager/promoter to bankroll??

I read somewhere that Hobson was looking to agree a deal with a US network but that one seems to have gone cold. Hobson made a loss on the Ceja fight.
 
It's tough on these guys, really it is. I read yesterday that one of the alphabet firms impose a 3% sanctioning fee on the fighters.
 
He may have to wait for purse bids and hope his opponent's promoters are willing to pat well to drag him over to their patch. Tough break for a nice guy.

He said himself he is not a fan of boxing, does'nt even know who Ali is. Not enough desire for the sport.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:He said himself he is not a fan of boxing, does'nt even know who Ali is. Not enough desire for the sport.

I don't think his desire can be questioned -- there are few fitter.

His problem is a lack of exposure. He's exciting enough -- his fights with Jamoye and Ceja attest to that.

Hobson had to stick his last fight on PPV just to get it televised so it must have been the lowest watched ppv event of all time. Sounded like there was only a handful at the fight also. He should try to get a new promoter while e has a world title because I cant see him holding onto it long.

catchweight wrote:Hobson had to stick his last fight on PPV just to get it televised so it must have been the lowest watched ppv event of all time. Sounded like there was only a handful at the fight also. He should try to get a new promoter while e has a world title because I cant see him holding onto it long.

I think it was well attended -- they had flyer teams galore hawking the fight left right and centre but yes, the PPV buy rate must have been miniscule (the figures were never released).

Tough call, though, as Hobson put himself out on a limb to get the fight (more or less buying the opportunity by bidding over the odds in order to acheive that crucial home advantage).

When I first came here in 89..........Britain had maybe two world champions and probably five guys fighting for one all year........special event for a Brit to get a shot...and rightly so.

The PPv figures for this kid were so low because even the housewife who watches Jeremy Kyle all day realises World titles are pretty much garbage.......

So what's the big deal........??

Sign of the times.. and those times are here to stay.

Even back then Truss you had guys like Andries who nobody had heard of, he's become slightly better known since but he famously carried his world title in a plastic bag on the bus with no one batting an eye lid.

Or in America you had Bowe who put his belt in a bin.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Even back then Truss you had guys like Andries who nobody had heard of, he's become slightly better known since but he famously carried his world title in a plastic bag on the bus with no one batting an eye lid.

Forgot about him........then again he was forgettable..

Feel sorry for the lad, he has unfortunately been victim to a lack of promotion

The only move for him would be to matchroom as I can't see america being interest in him, but he is never going to have a huge pool of talent to choose from and will never get the exposure the higher weights get

He is a good boxer with a fun style but no-one wants to back him

I am surprised Eddie hasn't gone for him, he likes to get his champions fighting in their hometown and Jamie does have an alright following where he's from (doncaster I think)

WHU, the main problem for Jamie is there is not really a venue that fits the bill in Donny. There is only really the dome which is a leisure centre he has outgrown or the football ground he cannot fill, as was proven last time out. As i mentioned yesterday he drew 3000 last time round which is not too shabby but put it in a football ground and it looks positively sparse. Risky putting him in Sheffield or Leeds where there are venues because you never know if the support will travel.

Mcdonnell vs Saul Alvarez?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Even back then Truss you had guys like Andries who nobody had heard of, he's become slightly better known since but he famously carried his world title in a plastic bag on the bus with no one batting an eye lid.

Forgot about him........then again he was forgettable..

The Andries story is quite admirable really truss. Fairly clueless brave journeyman wins a world title. Tommy hearns plays yoyo with him (though he did wobble tommy in between the one way carnage).

Packs his bags to the kronk gym, at a fairly advanced age, improves and gains the respect of all there. Had some good tussles with Harding.

Don't diss the Dennis!

milkyboy wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Even back then Truss you had guys like Andries who nobody had heard of, he's become slightly better known since but he famously carried his world title in a plastic bag on the bus with no one batting an eye lid.

Forgot about him........then again he was forgettable..

The Andries story is quite admirable really truss. Fairly clueless brave journeyman wins a world title. Tommy hearns plays yoyo with him (though he did wobble tommy in between the one way carnage).

Packs his bags to the kronk gym, at a fairly advanced age, improves and gains the respect of all there. Had some good tussles with Harding.

Don't diss the Dennis!

Agree. A lot to respect in Dennis Andries. Limited boxer, but hard as nails. Made the best of what he had and achieved well beyond what anyone really believed.

Oh dear - the IBF have moved to strip McDonnell for failing to schedule a mandatory. He's also in the same boat as Swifty Smith - signed with Hearn only for Hobson to file a complaint.

Modern boxing really is harsh - what chance to these guys have?

How does this all work? Surely there have been champions that have gone longer than McDonnell without a mandatory? How long did Froch go without fighting one? I didnt think a boxer had to fight a mandatory straight away?

catchweight wrote:How does this all work?

Simple, if you are marketable you can do what you want. If you're not if you do anything slightly wrong you get stripped.

Makes you puke that Vitali can be 15 months out with no visible sign of him returning and there is no sign he is going to be stripped, but a good honest pro like McDonell goes a few months without scheduling anything whilst he sorts out his managerial issues and he is threatened with this. Boxing sucks on occasions.

Absolutely horrendous considering he fought Ceja in what, May?

Until fighters stop fighting for them - the alphabet bandits will continue to pillage the sport.

Jeff's right - it's all about sanctioning fees.