BOXING: ‘I back myself completely’ — Swansea’s Jolly takes his biggest gamble at the O2

Moses Jolly had two weeks to decide whether to take the biggest fight of his life. He did not need them.

On Saturday night the unbeaten Swansea heavyweight steps through the ropes at the O2 Arena in London to face Guido Vianello, an Italian ranked 12th in the world by the IBF and 14th by the WBC.

It is the sort of jump that makes or breaks careers, and it landed in his lap by accident. Vianello had been due to fight David Adeleye, who parted company with Queensberry Promotions, leaving the Italian without an opponent a fortnight out.

“They gave us two weeks’ notice and we thought we’d take the fight, because we came off a victory against Will Howe around three months ago and it’s better to stay active than not to stay active,” Jolly told Swansea Bay News.

“In this sport, when you get offered an opportunity like this, it’s silly not to take it, really. And I believe in myself. So I do think I’ll claim the victory.”

The 30-year-old, who fights as ‘the Native’ and grew up in the Townhill and Mayhill area of the city, is 12-0 with eight knockouts.

His most recent outing was a points win over Middlesbrough’s Will Howe at Neath Sports Centre in May.

Vianello, 32, known as ‘the Gladiator’, is 14-3-1 with 12 knockouts. He stopped Arslanbek Makhmudov in eight rounds in August 2024, the best win on his record, and knocked out Alexis Barriere in the fifth last October.

His three defeats have come against good company: a split decision to Efe Ajagba, a unanimous decision to Richard Torrez Jr in April, and a stoppage early in his career.

Both men stand 6ft 6in and both box orthodox. The bout is scheduled for eight rounds.

Jolly is comfortable with the billing that comes with it.

“I view myself being the underdog but also coming out on top. It’s just making sure to not get carried away with things, and you know you have a job to do,” he said.

“You know that it could be exciting and it’s in a bigger arena with a bigger platform. That there’s someone who has far more experience than you, but at the same time, this is what you’re here for.

“I back myself completely. I know it’s a tough challenge, but I didn’t enter this sport for easy challenges. So it’s just another day in the office.”

He has spoken before about using boxing to move past a difficult upbringing that included bullying and racism, and he returns to the theme when asked why the underdog role suits him.

“Optimism fuels things, doesn’t it? Optimism is like the growth of life, and through that people see that I can do it too,” he said.

“I feel like it’s my calling throughout life. Not just boxing, but whatever I invest myself in. It’s got to be fuelled with optimism. It has to have a purpose.”

“When you’re up against a bigger opponent and better opposition, it makes you work better, doesn’t it? It makes you work harder and smarter and more educated.”

‘At some point they have to take a risk’

His manager, Mickey Helliot, does not pretend otherwise.

“It’s definitely a risk, but I think fighters that want to get to the top, at some point they have to take a risk,” he said.

“He’s been a pro for, what, four, five years now. So it’s time to open up. He’s sparred everyone, all the top guys. He’s done fine with all of them. Now we’re taking a bit of a chance, but he’s come on so much, and this kind of opportunity you don’t want to turn it down.”

Helliot’s reading of the opponent is that Vianello is beatable at this level without being a soft touch.

“When Guido has stepped up, he’s been found short. So it’s not like we’re putting him in against whoever is at the top of the tree at the moment. He’s not fighting Usyk. He’s fighting someone that has stumbled a couple of times,” he said.

“I think he’s underrated, the opponent. He’s lost by a very narrow margin and there’d even be arguments that he could have won them. I think it’s a hard fight.”

Preparation has included a sparring trip with Rico Verhoeven, the Dutch kickboxing great who took Usyk to the 11th round at the Pyramids of Giza in May before a contentious stoppage.

The Howe fight, Helliot says, turned out to be the ideal rehearsal.

“It was a very tough fight, and to be honest I’m happy that we had it, because it was good preparation for a fight like this. If we hadn’t had that, it would have been on my mind that he’s not had a hard test yet,” he said.

“Moses showed his mettle in that fight. He needed a fight like that, which did test him, which did put him on the spot, put him under a bit of pressure. He didn’t break, didn’t wilt at all.”

What neither man will accept is the idea that a good defeat would do.

“I keep hearing people saying, oh well, if he does well, even if he gets beat. We want to win. Moses is a winner and we want to win. We want to go and knock this guy out and move on to the next one,” Helliot said.

“This will put Moses on the map, because this is going to have huge exposure. It’s going to be a massive platform for Moses to show his talent.

“Moses has fought at Cardiff Arena, so he’s had experience of boxing in a huge arena before. Now it’s going to be the O2. This is the sort of opportunity we’ve been waiting for. Now it’s time to do the business.”

The fight sits on the undercard of Moses Itauma’s meeting with Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF heavyweight title, with the card shown live on DAZN pay-per-view.

For a fighter who was largely unknown outside Wales a month ago, it is a considerable stage.

“It’s exciting for all the Swansea people and people in Wales,” Jolly said. “We’ve been in the gym asking for this kind of fight.”