.jpg)
Dave Coldwell was a delighted observer at Wembley Arena two weeks ago as both Leigh Wood and Hopey Price registered impressive victories. Wood, managed by Coldwell, demonstrated his much talked about power with a stunning ninth round stoppage of Reece Mould.
Price, a fighter trained by Coldwell, added more experience to his record with a dominant win over Nicaraguan import, Daniel Mendoza. Coldwell was impressed with both results.
“Leigh had to be patient, but what a finish,” beamed Coldwell in the fight’s aftermath.
“I didn’t want Leigh to go backwards following the Golden Contract tournament so a shot at the British title was the ideal opportunity for him to rebound back from the disappointment of losing out to Jazza Dickens and he responded brilliantly. It was a hard fight as Mould was undefeated, younger, and very confident. Leigh had to do a job and once he got going it was great to see. Featherweight is an interesting division domestically and there’ll be some more big nights ahead for him.”
On Price, Coldwell added, “It wasn’t ideal for Hopey with the late opponent change, but what can you do in the current climate? There were several opponents that I liked the look of, but with this all happening last minute, we just had to focus on the job at hand. Mendoza was short and compact, and that gave Hopey some questions. I’m happy with how he dealt with the fight when things got up close, and his counters also impressed me. I’ve got no doubts that he’s one of the best prospects in Britain at this moment and you’ll see the best from him when opponents are trying to win.”