Dave Coldwell expecting Lerrone Richards to soon be as good as new

Dave Coldwell believes that he and Lerrone Richards have “unfinished business” together. 

In June, Coldwell was in attendance as Richards was shockingly stopped in six rounds by Steed Woodall. The sight of his friend and former student suffering such a damaging defeat saddened Coldwell who developed a soft spot for Richards during their time working together and spoke long and loudly about his talent. 

Richards wisely let the dust settle on the defeat and after discussing things with his team, found himself talking to his old trainer about restarting their relationship.

Coldwell and Richards, 18-1 (4 KOs), first got together in 2020 and enjoyed a successful three-fight run which saw the now 32-year-old outclass Giovanni De Carolis to win the European super middleweight title and then inflict a first career defeat on the world-rated Carlos Gongora. 

The two have remained friends since amicably parting ways and Coldwell believes they still have plenty to achieve together. 

“To be honest, I’m very much where once we split, once we’ve gone separate ways, that’s it,” Coldwell told BoxingScene.

“Lerrone turned up and he asked if we could have a chat and we sat and we spoke for well over an hour. I like the kid and because we’ve always been friends, it feels like it’s unfinished business.

“I want to get him out in October hopefully. This will be a progression and then we’ll see his old self.

“I think it’ll take until about February and he’ll be flying again.”

Richards is blessed with some of the most pure, precise skills in British boxing but has been criticized for his refusal to release the handbrake, even when he has an opponent demoralized and beaten. At times the former British champion has suffered a fate even worse than criticism. He has been ignored. 

Plenty of fighters understandably add an extra layer of security to their game after suffering a heavy knockout defeat but Richards already prioritizes defense; he surely can’t afford to retreat further into his shell. 

Coldwell is as certain as he can be that that won’t be an issue.

One of the benefits of knowing Richards so well is that he is better placed than anybody else to recognise even the smallest, subtlest changes in behavior and body language that can betray a fighter’s true feelings. Coldwell understands that there is a rebuilding process to go through but would like to see Richards quickly returning to the more spiteful style they had begun to develop before their initial split. So far, he doesn’t see any signs that Richards is unwilling to do that.

“I’ve not seen any sign of that. And I will test it in sparring,” he said.

“I’m not one of these that wants to waste time. So I’m not going to be looking for him only sparring feather-fisted boxers and things like that. I’m not going to have that because if he can’t get back to the level he was and beyond, then we’re wasting his time. 

“But he’s not showing any signs of that. I like to talk to fighters and I think a big thing is about mentality and how they take a defeat, how they take a knockout. You have to understand boxing is boxing and anyone who gets hit right can go.

“Now, this is one thing that I’m very, very convinced of, because I’ve seen Lerrone in sparring where we’ve been against bigger guys, big punchers. I’ve seen him hit right on the button and he’s never had a reaction at all.”

One change Coldwell has immediately made is to move Richards permanently to the light heavyweight division. Richards made the super middleweight limit for his fight with Woodall but it was the lightest he had been since his fight with Gongora back in December 2021. Last November he looked strong when weighing in at 174lbs to outbox former Central Area light heavyweight champion, Mickey Ellison, and Coldwell believes that at this stage of his career, Richards is far better suited to the heavier weight. 

“I remember when [Tony] Bellew boxed. When Usyk called Bellew out and Bellew said, ‘What do you think, coach?’ My first reaction to him was, ‘Do it at heavyweight’ because it’s over two years since you made cruiserweight and in that two years you’ve been walking around as a heavyweight.’” Coldwell remembered. “So as you get older, when you’re in your thirties and you’re approaching your thirties, to then try and go back to that weight division when you’ve already struggled beforehand, it’s going to take away your reflexes, take away your punch resistance, take away your stamina.

“And that’s what I thought about Lerrone. He got caught with that shot that unhinged him and then obviously two, three further shots that put him over.

“The kid still got up. But at that weight, he didn’t look right.

“I know people say, ‘Oh, that’s an excuse. It’s bullshit.’ But listen, boxing is boxing and physiology is physiology.  And, the way I look at it, this was a factor. So you can take what you want from it but I take it as though the weight had an effect. Obviously, as well, technical mistakes that he made. 

“At the end of the day, we just want the fights. He’s going to box at light heavyweight. He’s going to be an interesting addition to the light heavyweight division.”

Over the past few years, top fighters haven’t exactly been climbing over the top of each other to secure a fight with Richards.

The loss to Woodall may just change some minds. Rather than refusing to sign up for a potential 12-round public boxing lesson, eager light heavyweights may just see a vulnerable, well known fighter trying to rebuild in a new weight division.

As Richards progressed through his career, moving between promoters and hearing louder and louder criticism of his style, he will have become petrified of the consequences of losing.

Plenty of defensively minded boxers have found themselves in similar situations. The fear of being cut adrift after a loss causes them to take even fewer risks which then means that they then attract more criticism. They fall into an ever decreasing circle. 

Now, the worst has happened and Richards has nothing to lose. If he and Coldwell can click quickly back into gear, he may just find that 2025 ends up providing him with the type of chance he has wanted for so long. 

“Hopefully he gets opportunities now that people think he’s ready to be banjoed again,” Caldwell said. “Once people see a chink in the arm, then they’re more likely to accept the fight. Whereas when you’re looking pretty much unbeatable, then they’d rather not take the risk.”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79