VERY FEW MIDDLEWEIGHTS are lining up to fight Gennady Golovkin these days, but Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan is an exception.
The Cork boxer suffered the first defeat of his career in 2013 when he went down to Billy Joe Saunders, but that hasn’t dampened his ambitions.
Following a frustrating spell with promoter Frank Warren, Spike has since gone in a different direction. He’s now working with Ken Casey — better known as a member of the Dropkick Murphys — and the fresh start has enabled the 30-year-old to rediscover his appetite for aiming high.
Often forced to endure long lay-offs from competition, O’Sullivan didn’t enjoy his time under Warren’s stewardship and even considered swapping boxing for mixed martial arts after some sparring sessions with MMA star Conor McGregor.
However, currently on a four-fight win streak which has brought his professional record to 20-1, the revitalised boxer now feels like he’s back on track.
He’ll be aiming to impress in front of the Sky Sports cameras tonight when he takes on Melvin Betancourt for the vacant NABA middleweight title on the undercard of James DeGale’s meeting with Andre Dirrell at Boston’s Agannis Arena.
“I was very inactive while I was with Frank Warren,” said O’Sullivan. “He was trying to give me fights to set me up to lose. Then he eventually did get me beat by Billy Joe Saunders.
“But the most frustrating thing was the inactivity; waiting nine, ten, eleven months for fights. Things have improved a lot with Ken Casey. I’m a lot more motivated, knowing that I’m going to be supported and that he’s going to get me good fights.”
MMA is growing in popularity, particularly here in Ireland, and O’Sullivan’s curiosity almost got the better of him while he was waiting for Warren to keep him busy. Sparring with UFC featherweight Conor McGregor played a part too.
“I just like to fight but I wasn’t getting any fights in the boxing ring. I started thinking about going into MMA so I said it to Paschal [Collins, his coach], but he said I might be banned from boxing if I did, so that kind of threw me off the idea.
“Conor McGregor got me thinking as well. He’s such a good striker in MMA but I know I’d be even better. I’d have a better striking game than he does. But he’s flying it and it’s great to see him doing well.
“I just wasn’t getting the opportunities I wanted in boxing, but things are on the right track now so I’m glad I stuck with what I’m doing.”
Losing to Billy Joe Saunders halted his progress up the rankings but O’Sullivan believes he’s still worthy of big fights, with tonight’s bout against Betancourt merely a stepping stone, in his eyes.
Betancourt’s 29-1 record, including 23 knockouts, looks impressive on first inspection, but further examination reveals that the Dominican hasn’t been clocking up those wins against reputable opposition. He’s also fought just once in the last 18 months.
O’Sullivan respects Betancourt’s punching power but believes he’s in a different league to his opponent. There are bigger tests ahead and now that he’s edged his way into his 30s, the Corkman wants them sooner rather than later.
There’s an air of invincibility about Gennady Golovkin right now. The undefeated Kazakh, who’s being linked with a fight against Carl Froch next, took his record to 33-0 last weekend courtesy of a sixth-round knockout of Willie Monroe Jr.
However, O’Sullivan believes Golovkin is far from unbeatable and, if given the opportunity that nobody else seems to want, he’s confident he can be the one to prove it.
“I’m looking to fight Golovkin next. Willie Monroe Jr fought him last and the title I’m fighting for this weekend is the one he vacated. He was 19-1 and I’ll be 21-1 when I win this fight, so there’s no reason why I can’t get that fight. I think it’s very possible.
“I think I’d knock Golovkin out. He has that Mike Tyson factor; everyone is beaten before they get in the ring with him. It’s going to take somebody who doesn’t give a shit about him, someone who’ll get in there and give him back exactly what he dishes out.
“He’s definitely hittable and when I hit people they get knocked out. I think Munroe exposed some few mistakes in him, I thought his footwork wasn’t the best. Everybody has weaknesses, there’s no perfect fighter. It’s a fight I really want.”
Andy Lee and Matthew Macklin are still Ireland’s most high-profile middleweights, but O’Sullivan — who has previously expressed an interest in fighting his fellow Irishmen — is adamant that he’s ready to overtake the pair.
He said: “I think if I can get the Golovkin fight I’ll be the number one middleweight on the planet this year; then I’ll maybe look for the Miguel Cotto fight after that. A big-money fight like that in Vegas, that’s the aim.”
Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan fights Melvin Betancourt live tonight on Sky Sports 1. Coverage begins at 8pm.
