Gavin can join twin as champion

Gavin McDonnell attempts to join his brother Jamie as a world champion on February 25 when he challenges for the prestigious WBC Super-Bantamweight title in Hull.

Coldwell, a Rotherham-based trainer and manager, said: “It is every fighter’s dream to win a world title and nearly all of them will tell you that the WBC is the main one.

“Putting things into context, Eric Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera fought for the same belt (Las Vegas, 2000) that Doncaster’s very own Gavin will be fighting for.”

Coldwell expects it to be a “huge year” for Gavin and his twin brother Jamie.

He said: “Jamie has had a great career so far and is now at the point where the major high profile fights are about to happen for him.

“We could see a clash with either Lee Haskins who has the IBF title or even Paul Butler of Liverpool for a big domestic fight, but it all depends on a couple factors - one being that the WBA ordered Jamie to fight Raushee Warren, the very talented American, and we are waiting on news of that.

“Another factor is that the time could well be right for Jamie to move up to super-bantamweight as it is getting harder and harder for him to make the weight.

“If it wasn’t for the expertise of our nutritionist Dave Stache he wouldn’t be able to perform at bantamweight (8st 6lbs) over the past year or so how he has done.”

Coldwell is a former trainer of Kell Brook, Sheffield’s IBF world welterweight champion, who is awaiting clarity himself on his next opponent.

His old gym-mate hopes the Ecclesfield man can secure huge fights across 2017.

“On the back of Kell’s fantastic performance against Gennady Golovkin, I’d like to see his next fight be a showdown with Amir Khan” said Coldwell.

“Both of them could struggle to get up for fights against men that don’t command the wider public’s attention - how do you go from fighting Golovkin or Saul Alvarez to someone good, but not well known?”

Coldwell, who trains WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has been asked a few times to train other boxers but says: “I haven’t any plans to add any more boxers.. but then I wasn’t planning on coming back to training boxers until Bellew came knocking!

“I enjoy working with the lads I work with now but I’m also managing quite a good number of boxers too and it’s that side of things where I’ll always look to add to the Coldwell Boxing stable.”

n Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn says he is aiming to arrange a contest with Manny Pacquiao some time around September or October.

“I and everybody around him want and know that at 154lbs he’s a much better fighter than at 147lbs. But he does have a belt at 147. He can make it but he’s depleted. He would have to make 147 to fight Khan but it’s Khan. You couldn’t stop Kell from doing that. But we’ve made Errol Spence an offer to come and fight Kell and we’ll see what they come back with” he told Boxing News.