The 21-year-old’s career has been moving in the right direction since his move to the MMA Clinic in Romford, and his progress continued with a 3rd round submission win over Donnelly at the HMV Forum in London.
Apart from his defeat via disqualification to Ian Entwistle at Cage Warriors 41 in April – which he avenged by defeating the same opponent in June – Wheeler has come through 2011 unbeaten thus far.
pic via Dolly Clew |
“I've had five fights this year and won four of them. I haven't gone the distance as I’ve finished all my opponents. That one loss was by ‘DQ’ but I won the re-match so I don't really count that as a loss.
“What’s next for me is up to Graham Boylan and Ian Dean. I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me.”
Wheeler took a confident approach into his recent lightweight bout with Donnelly, insisting beforehand that he had already taken on opponents of a higher calibre.
However, Donnelly ended up giving Wheeler his biggest test of the year, which took him slightly by surprise.
“Kevin was tougher than I thought,” said Wheeler, reflecting on the fight. “He surprised me with some kicks and knees but other than that he was how I expected him to be. I just didn't stick to my game-plan.
“I wasn't happy with my performance. I got the win, which was good, but it took me two rounds to get my head into the fight. I didn't set the pace, I felt I was lazy and sloppy. It was almost like I didn't even realise I was in a fight.
“My corner had a go at me after the 2nd round and told me to wake up. They made me tell myself that I wanted to win the fight, which lit the spark and woke me up.
“That's why I came out aggressive in the 3rd, which is then when I pushed the pace, put the pressure on him and got the finish. But I should have come out like that from the start.”
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