Colombian KO king faces Gully in Riyadh

Gully Powar…impressive Grand Prix start. Picture: Manjit Narotra/BCB

WOLVERHAMPTON whirlwind Gully Powar will face unbeaten Jhon Bolano in the last 16 stage of WBC’s featherweight Grand Prix tournament.

The Riyadh based competition seems some of world’s finest prospects battle it out for a $200,000 first prize and lucrative contract.

It’s a tough test for Gully, who is unbeaten in 12, managed by BCB and trained by Richie Carter.

Colombian Bolano, who he meets on June 20, has won nine on the spin. And the 20-year-old hits hard, with eight of those wins coming inside distance.

The calibre of opposition is questionable, however. Bolano hadn’t fought outside his own country until travelling to Saudi Arabia to outpoint American Jermaine Hardison in the Grand Prix’s initial round.

And Powar’s confidence will be high after a very impressive performance in his own Grand Prix debut last month.

He soundly outpointed southpaw Japhethlee Llamido. The Californian had lost only one of 13 going into the competition, had beaten a world champ in Japan’s Ryosuke Iwasa and served as sparring partner to modern great Noaya Inoue.

I understand the Bolano clash will again be over six rounds, the quarters over eight, semis 10 and final 12.

Make no mistake, Powar believes he can win the global competition. His self-belief is unshakable.

In a recent interview, he told me: “I know what I’m capable of doing. Fighting in my natural weight category, everyone saw what I’m capable of doing.

“But what people saw was only a glimpse of what I can do. I dare to be great, I’ve said yes to every single fight offered me.

“I believe in me. If I don’t believe in myself, no one else will. I have a good engine, I’m exciting, I have fast hands, and the real power is coming – you saw that with the right hands and body shots I landed.”

He added: “The commentators said I was something special – I’ve always known that.”

We’ll know more about how special after the Bolano fight.