COLDWELL BOXING: MCINTOSH EXPECTS 'TORRID BATTLE' WITH BELLEW

Danny McIntosh makes no bones about it. When he takes on British light
heavyweight champion Tony Bellew on April 14th at the Echo Arena in
Liverpool it's a case of all or nothing for him.

Speaking exclusively to coldwellboxing.com, the 31-year old may be
coming into this showdown on the back of a defeat. But in losing his
European crown to Edward Gutknecht in May of last year, 'Big Mac' was
keen to explain the reasons that contributed to his defeat.

"Before I fought Gutknecht I was up and down to Sheffield for a while
because a mate of mine had died. I was also half a stone overweight
which is unacceptable... I should have pulled out."

The fight against Bellews presents the perfect opportunity for the
13-2 (7) fighter to get back, to not only domestic level but perhaps
getting him closer to another crack at WBO champion Nathan Cleverly,
who McIntosh lost to back in 2009.

"I'm looking at Tony as a stepping stone. He's looking for a rematch
with Cleverly but so am I," he explained.

McIntosh predicts to a "torrid battle" against Bellew but the Norfolk
native is not prepared to leave the result in the hands of the judges.

"Listen, he's gonna get stopped," insisted McIntosh.

"He throws more punches than me but whether or not he connects is
another thing.

Bellew brings a hell of a lot of power, he also fought Cleverly and
nearly beat him but I can't say he's got a lot more experience. He
brings a lot of will and as I said, a lot of power, but he's getting
stopped."

When speaking to McIntosh it was detectable in his voice and attitude
that he's not willing to go backwards in his career should he not
emerge victorious on April 14th. Despite only having had 15 fights in
a seven year professional career he's treating this as his last chance
saloon.

"This is for the British title. Everything's going into this fight.
I'm not gonna get many more chances because no-one's gonna want to
fight a guy like me that can punch the way I do."

And as he recalled his greatest victory to date, when beating Thierry
Karl in France at the beginning of last year, McIntosh said that he'll
be bringing every positive from that night into his clash with Bellew.

"I thought in my head I wasn't going to win the fight. I had the flu
during training camp so I thought it was going to be a good pay day
and nothing else

Two days before the fight I stopped sweating, feeling ill and I knew
then I could win the fight. And as soon as I got to the weigh-in I got
to him psychologically and I knew I had him. I can use all of that in
this fight. I know how to overcome the odds."


David Coldwell in association with Eddie Hearn presents 'The Big Bang'
which is live and exclusive on Sky Sports HD, Saturday 14th April
2012.


Tickets are priced at £30, £40, £60, £80 with VIP tickets £150; all
available from:


www.coldwellboxing.com


www.matchroomboxing.com


Follow @davidcoldwell on Twitter for regular updates