Amidst the furor of Ricky Hatton’s short-lived comeback, there was an excellent fight further down Saturday night’s Manchester bill featuring two of Britain’s best super bantamweights, as Scott Quigg and Rendall Munroe squared off for a second time.
Their first fight proved inconclusive, ending in anti-climax with a bad cut to Munroe leaving him unable to continue, while Quigg’s perfect record was blotched by the resulting technical draw. Settling matters was an important piece of business for both Quigg and Munroe to attend to, but the unfortunate yet stark reality was that their fight garnered little attention in the blazing wake left by the media trail coveting Hatton’s return.
Nonetheless, those in the fight game knew the genuine significance of this bout. Quigg – a fresh faced and well talked-of prospect, had it tough against the dogged, battle-hardened Munroe, and an exciting cross-roads clash was fully anticipated.
Munroe entered the ring to The Fugees “Ready or Not”. It showed Munroe’s morose mood in all its light ahead of a crucial night for the 32 year old. Quigg had talked of changing his game plan from the first fight, and the bright eyed Bury resident looked focused as ever as he made his way through a crowd that was increasing in size and volume.
Munroe started the first round with intent. Whipping hooks to Quigg’s body from both sides, he pressed the action and forced the inactive Quigg to maneuver. On the outside, Quigg appeared slightly tentative to let his shots go. In hindsight, he was plotting a strategy he would execute with success in the coming rounds.
In the second, Quigg began to time Munroe coming in and delivered some huge left hooks to the body, but Munroe was still forcing the pace. For someone as experienced as Munroe, however, it was strange to see him neglect the body as he began to do in the third. Munroe made Victor Terrazas wilt with relentless pursuit and a wicked body assault, now he was head-hunting.
The aforementioned hunting of Quigg’s head failed to work for Munroe, and he began to miss with a lot of his work. Munroe wasn’t forcing the fight as effectively as he would have wanted. His ring entrance music had declared the importance of “finding someone and taking it slowly” and, though he was certainly taking it slowly, he was finding it harder and harder to find Quigg, who continued to land hard hooks to the body.
Beginning the sixth, urgency was needed for Munroe to get a hold of this fight before it was beyond reach, but any signs of victory were soon blurred by a vicious left hook Quigg delivered around Munroe’s right elbow. The blow was sickening, and Munroe struggled to his feet in clear distress. The end was nigh and Quigg wasted no time securing it with a right uppercut to his tormented foe’s midsection. Munroe went down again and the fight was over.
For Rendall Munroe, this may be the end of a career that has seen entertainment and frustration in spells, though even if he does decide to retire as was suggested via his Twitter page, he will be fondly remembered for his valiant challenge to Toshiaki Nishioka in Japan as well as some barnstorming clashes on domestic soil with Kiko Martinez, Simone Maludrottu and Terrazas. For Quigg, however, this could just be the beginning.
He effectively ended matters with what was Ricky Hatton’s signature punch – a left hook to the body and, although some may not find it pertinent to talk about the future with the careers of Hatton and Munroe likely coming to a close, it was exciting to see a prospect handle such a step up with such ease.
The boxing fans of Manchester may be in mourning following a painful finale to their favorite son’s career, but in Quigg they may well have a ready-made replacement for their fixations. Ricky Hatton’s career was successful in large part for his left hook to the body. His career also ended by the same blow. Now Quigg appears to have entered the spotlight with exactly the same punch. You just couldn’t make it up.
