Blair’s View from Britain:
What exactly does an undefeated prospect need to do to get a win around here? Never before have such words been uttered, but uttered they were on Saturday night at London’s Copper Box Arena, where not one but two young ‘hometown’ fighters with pristine records found themselves on the losing side for the first time in their professional careers.
Frank Buglioni left himself open to Sergey Khomitsky’s left hooks and overhand rights, paying the price in full as his corner pulled him out during the 6th round. The corner’s hand was forced by the poor judgement of the referee, who inexplicably deemed Buglioni worthy of a standing count when he could barely stand.
Prior to that, Georgie Kean came a cropper at the hands of William Warburton, who’s now 12-60 (2 ko’s) record will never again have the same lure for up and coming prospects. Luckily for Kean, the defeat comes early in his career, leaving him with plenty of time to recoup and improve.
Yes, upsets were the order of the night, and the servings didn’t stop arriving upon the main event, where Commonwealth cruiserweight champion Tony Conquest was dispatched and thus deposed with almost routine summation by Ovill McKenzie. In fairness, we should have seen it coming. McKenzie calls himself “The Upsetter”, so this kind of thing is quite literally what he does best. Ovill landed a thudding right hand to the temple of Conquest in the 5th round – a debilitating punch that earned him the Commonwealth belt at a second weight category.
Elsewhere that same evening, David Price must have heard the ringing of familiar alarm bells as Ondrej Pala dumped him to the canvas in the opening round of their fight in Denmark. The English heavyweight steadied himself however, before lowering his own personal boom with two big right hands in the 3rd round. Price’s weekend continued in victorious vein as his football team of choice – Liverpool – beat Manchester City in an emotionally-charged battle of Premier League challengers.
It was announced during the week that Nehomar Cermeno would not be Scott Quigg’s opponent for his WBA super bantamweight world title defence this Saturday. There were a few issues resulting from Cermeno’s pullout.
One – it left Quigg in a temporary quandary as to who he would face but – and I must stress the importance of this – it also made my Quigg-Cermeno prediction article redundant. I was perturbed, I’ll admit, but I’m almost over it now. No honestly, I am, because Tshifiwa Munyai has been confirmed as Cermeno’s replacement. Munyai – or “The Atomic Spider” as he is known, has form in spoiling the plans of undefeated British fighters so at least there’s intrigue there, as well as a fantastic nickname.
Fighter of the Week
William Warburton. Not only did this fighter take an undefeated record on Saturday night, but he did it looking good, live on television. The only downside is it may put up-and-comers off fighting him in future.
Moment of the Week
Be warned readers, this week’s moment is nothing to smile about, because it left me asking – where will in-fight advertising end? The referee of David Price’s win; Freddie Rafn, had the back of his shirt sponsored by Diadora. Does Mr. Rafn have a personal affinity with this particular line of sportswear?
With my tongue firmly removed from the inside of my cheek, I do despise the amount of advertising we are all now subjected to during fights. Not only do we miss the important moments in between rounds in case we might like to buy the latest innovation in toenail clipping, but advertising is becoming more and more prevalent inside the actual ropes.
How often has it been mentioned that those garish on-canvas adverts can become slippery over the course of a fight? This can seriously impact the footwork of both boxers, providing added danger to an already dangerous sport. It’s time common sense prevailed. Otherwise we have to come up with a new term of stoppage…”The fight is stopped by way of wet logo”, anyone?
Quote of the Week
“Yeah we’re good friends…we’ve known each other for years (and) there’s no bad feeling between us. But don’t get me wrong, come fight night we’re gonna try and take each others heads off”.
John Murray (speaking of Anthony Crolla) might have a hard time explaining the abnormalities of such boxing friendships to the average layman.
Look Ahead
As per the above quote, this Saturday’s Manchester derby between former stablemates and sparring partners – Crolla and Murray – continues to simmer away. The two appeared on Sky Sports’ ‘Ringside’ and attempted to explain why, although they really are best buds, they will be punching each other on the undercard to Scott Quigg’s world title defense. I tried to believe the smiles and knowing nods, but Murray’s icy stare spoke volumes. I have a feeling that compassion may well give way to passion on the night.
