Jaidon on comeback trail

Fighting twice in one week is nothing new to Jaidon Codrington. He fought five times in the same time span during the National Golden Gloves a few years back. However, the circumstances were vastly different this time around for the Jamaica resident.
Making his return to the ring for the first time since suffering his first defeat - an 18-second knockout at the hands of Allan Green last November - Codrington, 22, won back-to-back bouts in his first battle with adversity.
Saturday, June 1st he knocked out Roy Ashworth (4-4) in the third round of an untelevised bout of a ShowBox card. The previous Saturday, in his first fight in eight months, Codrington went the distance (six rounds) for the first time in his career, earning a unanimous decision over Robert Marsh (9-40-2).
&#8220I felt like a track star when he gets the red ribbon,” he said. &#8220A lot of tension is off my back.”
Codrington (11-1, 10 KO's) was not at his power-punching best in the first bout. He was tentative against Marsh, uncharacteristically hesitating, perhaps having flashbacks to the Green fight, yet still managed to garner the decision. &#8220I always get nervous before fights,” he said, &#8220but it was a different kind of nervous.”
His trainer, Nirmal Lorick, suggested Codrington wait to make his return. He urged Codrington to back out of a fight on the under card of the Pauli Malignaggi-Miguel Cotto WBO Jr. Welterweight title fight June 10th at Madison Square Garden, because he sought to have Codrington fight away from home. The comeback began, in of all places, Columbia, South Carolina, with none of the hangers-on that accompanied Codrington before the Green knockout.
&#8220The first fight was kind of nerve-wracking for all of us,” said Lorick. &#8220It came out better than we thought.”
As for the second fight, when Codrington took a few big shots, only to rebound and lay out Ashworth with a lethal left hook, &#8220that's when I knew he was back,” his trainer said.
&#8220It was a big relief,” the super middleweight said of the knockout. &#8220I felt like I was back at the point where I need to be.”
There's no question, as it turned out, Codrington was rushed into the Green fight. However, in the process, the knockout may have sped up his maturation process.
&#8220It passed through my head,” he said. &#8220But it didn't get the best of me. I was thinking of focusing and getting back into the ring.”
A cocky up-and-comer, Codrington now speaks in measured tones, thinking before each comment. Furthermore, he's become focused on the job at hand.
&#8220He's learning more about boxing now, being a fighter and everybody being on your bandwagon,” said Lorick. &#8220He was in a different world. He was worried about everything but the fight. Who was going to be there, who wasn't there? I am seeing changes. There's nothing that matters to him now but him and his trainers. Forget about managers; forget about promoters, none of that matters.”
Now that he's made his victorious return, Codrington is ready to come back to the city where he made his name. He will fight on the under card of the Vernon Forrest-Ike Quartey bout at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on August 5th.
He still would like another shot at Green down the road. &#8220Not today and not tomorrow, but in the near future,” he said. &#8220I won't feel 100 percent better until I get a knockout of Green.”