One of the UK’s busiest trainers is coming to the end of one of his busiest spells as several of his boxers prepare to box both home and abroad.
Next week, Tony Sims will be in the corner of his new cruiserweight client Jordan Thompson and Welsh star Joe Cordina, the former IBF super-featherweight champion who challenges Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov for his old crown at the Cardiff International Centre.
Then Sims heads to Las Vegas where to help John Ryder complete preparations for his May 6 date in Guadalajara with Canelo Alvarez.
“It’s obviously been busy but I’m coming to the end of it because obviously I’ve got Joe and Jordan fighting next Saturday, so that will be two off my list, then I fly straight out to Vegas with John, so it’s been pretty busy to be honest,” Tony admitted.
Next weekend, in Wales, Sims comes face to face with another leading trainer, Freddie Roach, who coaches the Tajikistan champion, but Cordina, his team and many in boxing felt the Welshman was harshly stripped of his title following his devastating two-round win over Kenichi Ogawa. Cordina picked up a hand injury and the IBF stripped him for failing to defend against Rakhimov.
“He shouldn’t have done,” Sims said, of the title being taken from Cordina. “He had a genuine hand injury and you can obviously see by the scar on his hand and how long he’s been out for that he shouldn’t have been stripped, but I don’t make the rules up and their rules were that if he doesn’t defend within three months, he gets stripped. So not much can be done.”
It happened because Cordina wasn’t the mandatory challenger when he fought Ogawa, so the IBF insisted he defend the crown within three months against Rakhimov, who was the mandatory contender, and when he couldn’t the title was made vacant and Rakhimov stopped Manchester’s Zelfa Barrett to win it.
“He’s a tough fighter,” Sims continued, discussing the champion. “He walks you down, he can obviously bang a bit because of his record and I’ve seen him against Jojo Diaz and he had a draw with him and Jojo Diaz is a quality operator… so he’s a tough fighter. He looks in good shape, he’s obviously with Freddie Roach and he’s a good fighter. He wouldn’t be at that level if he wasn’t, so it’s going to be tough.”
Sims is an experienced coach, but so is the man in the opposite corner, Roach, although Tony doesn’t see it as him versus the LA-based coach, it’s about the boxers and making sure they are ready.
“I don’t really think about that to be honest,” Sims said, when asked of going head-to-head with Roach. “I just think about what I’m doing with a fighter, what condition I’m getting him in to, watching the other fighter, seeing what his weaknesses and his strengths are but I never really think like that to be honest.”
