‘Bank on Gully’s will to beat Rhys’ skill’ - trainer Richie Carter

Gully Powar…British title fight in April. Picture: Manjit Narotra/BCB

IT’S been a long time coming, but Gully Powar – a featherweight firecracker – finally has his British title fight nailed down.

He’ll face Welshman Rhys Edwards on Welsh soil, with the pair meeting for the vacant belt at Cardiff Arena on April 4. Stand-out female fighter Lauren Price tops the bill.

Wolverhampton’s Power, who enjoys huge support from the Sikh community, has had to show patience in the build-up. An injury to Edwards, who’s lost only one of 18, has seen the title date pushed back on three occasions.

The “on-off” saga’s not ruffled the local featherweight’s feathers, it has not blurred his tunnel vision, trainer Richard Carter stressed.

And former pro Carter is brimming with confidence – he believes the Lonsdale Belt is coming back to the Black Country. “Will will always beat skill,” Carter said, “and Gully has an awful lot of will in him.

“He spars world champions, he spars good, top class kids and they all say the same, ‘Gully’s a nightmare’. If he misses you with the first punch, he’ll catch you with the second.

“We’re under no illusions – Rhys Edwards is a damn good kid, but he’s in for a hard night. He’s hard work for anyone he fights. We’re not going into this fighting thinking we’re the B side, we’re the A side.”

In the ring, 23-year-old Powar is an irrepressible force, slinging shots non-stop. That engine comes from a near unbelievable gym work ethic: top fighters eat and sleep boxing, Gully breathes it. The sport is an obsession.

“With Gully, he’s always in the gym,” Carter said, “he’s always ready. He’s ready with three weeks notice because that’s the level of fitness he has. It’s hard work to slow him down, he’s like a bottle of pop. Boxing is his life, he does it full time, he has that goal.

“Some fighters have a fight then go missing, put on two stone – listen, I was the worst for it – and six or eight weeks down the line want to fight again. It takes six weeks just to get the weight off. Gully hasn’t got that problem, he’s only half-a-stone over at any time.”

It was Powar’s sole loss in a 14 bout career that sent his stock soaring. He faced world class Mexican puncher Brandon Mosqueda in the lucrative Riyadh based WBC Grand Prix tournament and gave him a very hard six rounder. Down the stretch, he was taking the fight to a man dubbed the next Canelo.

Mosquedo, 13-0 with only three bouts going to points, went on to win the whole competition.

Carter strongly believes Gully didn’t get the rub of the green in Riyadh. He’s adamant Mosqueda’s second round tumble to the canvas should’ve been ruled a knockdown, not a slip.

“He took a shot on the way down and if you take a shot before you hit that canvas it’s a knockdown. Those are the rules. I thought Gully won the last three rounds, the judges gave him one.”

For Carter that performance provided proof of what he’s always believed – Powar is something special.

“Yes, I do believe we are looking at a world class fighter,” he added. “A lot who get those British title fights are quite happy with what they’ve got, they’re happy to say they fought for the British title. Gully won’t accept nothing else but winning – and when he’s won, he wants to win the next one, then the next one.

“You have to be brave to have that mentality. Gully has that mentality.”