Name This Fight…

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By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

Build up

It is easy to forget that you live in a big world. Especially now during a pandemic the news may be coming from all across the Globe but if all you have a daily move from your front room to the kitchen to the bedroom as the limit of your excitement then… it all seems that bit smaller, the world does…

This is especially true of any fight that is held “down under”.

In the boxing word we tend to see the best in the US and the rest in the UK. There aint much else… But of course, there is literally a whole different world out there and this fight was an example of just how juicy it can be…

The first fight had ended in controversy as the winner walked off with a tainted win. The former champion who was now the challenger had already been much in the news after beating a legendary figure in the sport for his first world title – one he held, defended and then lost. His winning the world title though was so contested that the whole fight was watched again by the governing body and re scored to make sure they had the right result; for many, they still got it wrong. There seemed to be controversy wherever this Oz fighter was in a ring.

The lead up to this rematch was bitter and acrimonious. The new champion, who had been the challenger in the first fight had been looking way beyond his rematch opponent after the first fight but a rematch clause was triggered and they were due to now do it all again – not that the fans were complaining.

The first fight had been a bloodbath and ended in the 9th round – controversially – as the new champion stopped the old champion who was now the challenger following a referee’s decision that was not well respected… You need to keep up here…

The challenger, however, was ready to get his titles back. He had made significant changes to his training regime and this boxer, lampooned in the media before for “just being a teacher” was ready. This may have been a fight for two regional titles – one from the WBA and one from the WBO – and not for a world crown but it showed that the lure of the ring could match the lure of a world title.

Also, on the card that night was an IBF youth title as well as a couple of catchweight fights and a couple of welterweight contests, but people were salivating at the prospect of the main event.

Expectations and punditry

There was much talk before the fight of how the champion had fallen to the point of being the underdog. Walking to the ring, in his ears would have been the various predictions that he was outfoxed and out boxed in the first fight. His loss to a pound for pound legend in his second defence of his world title, was likely to be weighing heavy on him but this was an opportunity for redemption; people just didn’t think he had it in him to get it. The referee in his world title win had been lenient towards him, according to his critics, and in the first fight he had been let go on longer than some thought he should have.

The new champion, with a reach advantage, the confidence of that win, the possibility of future world honours and his opponent not looking too clever the last time led to quite a few expecting that the champion would get in the ring, repeat his last win and go on to world glory. Quite a few predicted it would happen though by decision and not a knockout.

3 minutes of mayhem…

The significant round was round nine. Up till this point it had been the challenger who was the better of the two. As things stood, he was doing well enough to be in front on at least two of the score cards though it was a tight fight for at least two of the judges – one of whom seemed to favor the champion.

The bell had gone and they both stalked to the center of the ring to take the battle, each to the other. Their first flurry ended in a clinch as they both failed to find the way in to destroy the other. After the clinch the champion clearly has the bit between his teeth as he goes for the challenger. The challenger looks slightly wobbled as the champion connects with an uppercut on the inside which seems to trouble him greatly.

The champion follows up as the challenger backs off with a right hand that lands on the side of the challenger’s head. Sensing that the challenger was in serious trouble, the champion lets go and seeks out the challenger with combinations which, by 30 seconds in, seem to be getting through with little response. The challenger is in trouble, seeking to cover up if he cannot hold on.

The challenger then finds a spot where he can hold, and the champion is temporarily halted but not for long. Just before the first minute is over, he has one glove on the challenger’s head whilst the other is flowing towards his opponent. It’s desperate stuff as the challenger manages to get some shots off but the champion is tracking him, pushing him, bullying him towards the ropes to unleash more punishment.

Just at the end of the first minute the referee has to step in to separate them, the challenger holding and refusing to let go.

Once he has been forced to let go, the champion got him in the corner and let go again. The challenger holds on for dear life and manages to get through this onslaught. The photographers are now crowding round the ring, hoping to catch THAT shot; when the challenger gets dropped and the fight is declared over.

The air of anticipation is palpable.

The referee has to separate them again but as soon as there is an opportunity, the champion starts again, managing to beat the challenger from one corner over the other now. There is little sign of the challenger managing to maintain an upright position.

Halfway through the round and the champion has him in a headlock in the center of the ring, his dominance for this round, clear for all to see.

But then… the contest begins to change.

The champion is punched out, the challenger has managed to get through the storm but at what cost as they wrestle towards the ropes and the champion cannot seem to get his new second skin – the challenger – off him.

Both corners are now up at the ropes when the referee calls time and asks for the doctor to look at the challenger’s wound that he had sustained earlier, in the first round.

After the fight, the length of time this consultation takes becomes an area of debate but you can see the size of the gash and why the referee would be concerned.

Clearly worried that the fight might have to be called off because the blood streaming down the challenger’s face is stopping him from being able to compete, the challenger’s corner hold their breath.

They are in luck as the doctor allows the fight to continue and immediately both meet in the center of the ring to begin the combat again. The pause in the action seems to have given the challenger an opportunity to catch his breath as he gets up on his toes to avoid yet another swinging right.

The champion looks tired, the challenger looks reinvigorated.

Now the champion is swinging but the challenger is swinging right back, and it looks like we have a very decent contest for the final minute. It’s relentless and it’s bloody and the crowd are loving every second of it.

The final minute begins with both holding onto each other until, the challenger throws a right, catches the champion and it is the champion who hits the deck. The challenger’s corner goes wild as the champion is forced to take a count.

The champion is now the one looking unsteady as the challenger comes forward to engage. They clinch and the challenger has the champion in trouble. With what looks more like a push than a connected shot, the champion is once again hitting the canvas.

Two knockdowns and the crowd are absolutely wild with excitement. But the challenger has a mission. Once the count is over and the champion makes sure that the ref knows that he all right to continue, the eagerness with which the challenger is now operating finds him throwing the champion to the floor for the third time.

In the mayhem the bell has gone, and both are now heading to their corners ready for the 10th and final round.

After the 10th round the challenger got a majority verdict as one judge scored the contest even whilst the other two gave it to the challenger wide enough that the two knockdowns in the ninth were icing on the cake.

Ironically, the challenger had suffered in the 9th twice before having been stopped in that round in his losing world title defense and being battered in the 9th by the legend he beat to win his one and only world title but this time – he pulled something magical out of his gloves.

Of course the loser’s camp were livid that the fight was stopped for a whole 25 seconds to allow the doctor to look at a cut that was caused in round one, giving the challenger an opportunity to recover enough to come barnstorming back. To date any protest official or unofficial has not changed the outcome of it… But what fight was it that saw a WBO and a WBA belt on the line between two Australian middleweights, one of whom was a former world champion?

The reveal

You can see the summary of the 9th round on YouTube if you are curious…

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