Garth Wood’s attempt to destabilise Daniel Geale with a cheeky head butt ahead of their Aussie middleweight showdown tomorrow night should backfire spectacularly.
Wood and Geale meet at Sydney’s Horden Pavillion and after a bitter lead-up to the fight Wood tried a butt on Geale as the two fighters squared off following the weigh-in.
It was the culmination of a war of words leading up to the February 19 bout. Often these kind of hostilities are staged but this time there seems to be some lingering animosity between the two.
Regardless, Geale has proven before that he won’t let his opponents get under his skin.
Anthony Mundine tried and spectacularly failed early last year, mocking Geale’s heritage and his wife’s before their January bout. ‘The Man’ wanted to get inside Geale’s head but just ended up getting soundly beaten.
All things considered, it should be the same result tomorrow.
Wood is not in the same class as Geale. He is a scrappy, limited brawler however who does possess some power. Mundine found that out in their first fight.
Geale has the edge in skill, experience and speed. A superior boxer, if the Tasmanian relies on his footwork and nous, avoiding Wood’s attempts to turn it into a street brawl or wrestling match, and deciding to fight intelligently, he should cruise to a points win.
Wood has only been fighting since 2007 and has had just 16 bouts. The 35-year old has not been in the ring with the same pedigree of opponents that Geale has, bar Mundine and Sam Soliman.
The former IBF champ, on the other hand, had a long amateur career along with 31 pro fights. Geale has won world titles in Germany and stands at the brink of more title shots possibly against Felix Sturm or Gennady Golovkin – if he can past Wood.
The 32-year old’s last fight was against Englishman Darren Barker in the US in August, where he lost his IBF crown by split decision. It was a close run thing.
After knocking Barker down early in the fight with a crippling rip to the body, he took his foot off the gas and the Englishmen roared back, just edging a close decision. Geale won’t be as careless this time.
Wood’s knockout power must be respected, as well as his heart. The former NRL player will be on Geale like a moth to a flame from the opening bell.
But Geale’s class and superior ability should prevail. Bigger challenges overseas await as long as he navigates past this local foe. A bright future back at the top of the middleweight world food chain would disappear if Wood pulls off a massive upset.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter at johnnyddavidson
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Nikita Tszyu has overcome a nasty mid-fight moment to score a unanimous points win over Danilo Creati and retain his Australian super welterweight title…
A bloodied Tim Tszyu has been cruelly denied in his quest to emulate his legendary father Kostya and become a unified world boxing champion…
Liam Wilson has suffered further heartbreak in Arizona, the Australian boxer losing his super-featherweight world-title fight against Mexican Oscar Valdez. In front of a…
Tim Tszyu has the chance to emulate his legendary father as a unified world boxing champion after the stakes were dramatically raised for his…
Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, with the Spaniard scoring a stunning second round knockout in the main…
Jason Moloney has survived an enthralling 12-round world title defence against Saul Sanchez in Canada, opening the door to a blockbuster unification fight in…
