Nelson, McCrory, Smith and Moore on the big four Leeds fights
Sunday 31 July 2016 13:08, UK
The Leeds Rumble has four fantastic headline fights coming your way, live on Sky Sports 1, but who will win?
We asked The Panel of Johnny Nelson, Glenn McCrory, Paul Smith and Jamie Moore to give us their calls on the big ones featuring Josh Warrington, Dillian Whyte, Luke Campbell and Tyrone Nurse and their opponents...
Glenn McCrory: This is going to be a tough fight for Warrington. Hyland has been in the lion's den before against Gary Russell Jr and will feel more at home and give his all. But I think Warrington will have just a little too much and I am expecting it to be a blinding fight, I really do. I will go for Warrington on points.
Johnny Nelson: This will be close. It might start to go in Warrington's favour in the last quarter of the fight and Warrington's pace and fitness should see him through. It is a big banana skin and in Hyland, this is a guy who has been in with the best so is no mug. I will go for Warrington on points, but not by much.
Paul Smith: I like Hyland, he's a nice guy who can fight as well and although he was well beaten last time out, Gary Russell Jr is one of the best around, and this is back to his level, so to speak. I just feel Warrington's work-rate is his best asset right now and his confidence is growing, so he might go through some tough moments, but Josh to win on points.
Jamie Moore: Style-wise, these two should blend so it could be the fight of the night but I do think Josh Warrington's workrate will see him through. It is not going to be an easy night's work though and I can see Hyland will push him all the way. Warrington on points.
Glenn McCrory: I think we'll see Dillian do a job on him early on. He wants to prove something to himself and given what he learnt from the Anthony Joshua fight, he's probably a level above Allen. I like David though and he will give it a real go, but I can see Whyte winning with a knockout in the first two or three rounds.
Johnny Nelson: I think Dillian gets the win but this will not be as easy as he thinks. Allen is a big unit, he can box and take a shot so I think Whyte is really going to have to work for this win. It will be excited as well but I think the crudeness and roughness and character will see Whyte doing it, over the full 10 rounds.
Paul Smith: I've only seen clips of Allen and had a look this week but to me, Whyte looks a level above and his quality will show. Whyte asked AJ some questions and showed he is a tough and talented guy. I keep getting mixed up with Whyte and the White Rhino, but I am going for a Dillian knockout, middle rounds.
Jamie Moore: We don't really know how good Allen is yet and we've seen more of Whyte. I've said it before but that performance against AJ is going to look better as time goes on. He is going to get better as well and I already rate him. I think he will show his class and Whyte might well stop Allen between five and eight.
Glenn McCrory: This is a dangerous, dangerous fight for Luke but he's probably taking Mendez at the right time. His best days are behind him and I think Luke's best days are in front of him. I see Luke knuckling down and I wouldn't be surprised to see Campbell stopping him in the middle rounds.
Johnny Nelson: On paper this could well be a tough, tough night for Campbell but he's been out in Miami and believe me, the gyms out there are tough. Going away to lick his wounds is the best thing he could have done. I do think we will see an improvement. Not a big one but enough to see Campbell get a late stoppage.
Paul Smith: We need to see what Campbell's got now and see him put on a show. I've seen Mendez sparring with me brother, Ant Crolla and a few of the lads in the gym and he is good. But I hope Luke shows he is back on track to where we expect, so I expect him to win this well. Campbell on points, maybe comfortably.
Jamie Moore: I remember watching Mendez spar with Matthew Hatton a few years and he was very good but that was then. As for Luke, sometimes a defeat makes you even better and maybe he took his eye off the ball against Yvan Mendy, but he looks to be back, bigger and better. I see Campbell's size and skill stopping Mendez late on.
Glenn McCrory: A really tough one to call. Nurse doesn't have the power to hurt Coyle so I think it will go the distance and I just think Coyle might have too much for him, now he's up a weight. Too much aggression, too much bullying and strength, so I am going for Coyle on points.
Johnny Nelson: Good fight. Tommy Coyle will put his heart and soul into this and although I am expecting Nurse to win, I wouldn't be surprised if Coyle took him down. Nurse has superior boxing skills and is probably the fresher of the two so I am going for him to keep the British title. Nurse on points.
Paul Smith: Nurse should out-box Coyle. He is a clever kid, his confidence has grown but maybe too much because he has been clipped a couple of times in the last few. He knows he can't do that again because although he's moved up, Tommy is a big puncher - and if you know him, he is a lovely lad. I am going for Nurse on points.
Jamie Moore: I've not seen too much of this Coyle bloke but I've heard he's in good fights and given Nurse's last couple of fights, this should be good. It could well be fight of the night but I am going to go for this Coyle to pull off a big win and become British champion. Late stoppage for Coyle... and no bias.