Appleyard, who under Coldwell’s guidance has experienced a variety of title chances, extinguished the dissapointment of his recent challenge to Sean Dodd where he just fell short and now with the English strap in his possession, Coldwell believes the victory can elevate him to a higher platform.
“I’m ecstatic for Lee because he’s someone who has the perfect attitude for this sport,” said Coldwell.
“That Dodd defeat hurt him bad but he went straight back the gym and was rewarded with another chance against a competent fighter. He’s not in this sport to make the numbers up and he fully believes that he can compete for titles on a regular basis. He wanted this fight bad and he wanted the belt bad and he showed how much it meant to him as he came in tonight in brilliant shape and and let everyone know what he’s capableof and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
He added, “The plan now is to keep him fighting for titles and to show everyone how good a fighter he really is.
“Everyone knows my philosophy when it comes to matching fighters and if a fighter loses a couple of times but it gives them that valuable experience then so be it. Lee Appleyard has proven that and look at him now. He was in against a good durable opponent and although he loaded up and didn’t pick his shots as well as I’d have liked, he improved as the fight wore on and forced a really impressive stoppage. I’m over the moon for the kid and his victory is a reward for all his hard work.”
