TalkingBoxing Articles
Woolcombe bombs out Mellis; Haye faces sub
FRI October 14, DAVE CRELLIN - Gary Woolcombe showed that he’s a man to watch for on in forcing Delroy Mellis to retire on his stool at the end of the eighth round. Mellis can punch but Woolcombe traded freely with the Jamaican strongman, winning just about every round and totally disheartening his opponent. It was a more than handy win for Woolcombe, as much in the style as in the fact that he won the British Masters belt – he’ll have won some fans as well as showing that early-career question marks about his punch resistance are unfounded.
This weekend was supposed to have seen the much-hyped match between two of Britain’s more interesting prospects, cruiserweights Mark Hobson and David Haye. , Hobson, though, is out having contracted shingles although Haye goes ahead with a bout against Vincenzo Rossitto, a fighter of European gatekeeper standard and the man against whom current European champ Alexander Gurov won the belt (Rossitto was forced to pull out due to injury in the second). Rossitto is a decent replacement for Hobson, although he has only one fight outside his homeland: a draw against Rudiger May in Germany two years ago. Haye will do well not to take him lightly – the difference in levels of anticipation between this match and the Hobson bout is enormous but a flat showing could see him out-boxed and with his indifferent stamina once again being questioned. Haye should, though, have too much within the distance, if his approach is anything approaching professional.
Yorkshire light-middle continues to rebuild on the undercard and should have too much class and strength for Robert Lloyd Taylor.
With Kevin Anderson having just won the Commonwealth welter belt, Barry Morrison, who has tracked Anderson from the amateurs to the pros, seeks to make up lost ground in defending his British Masters 140-pound belt against displaced Slav Tony Montana. Montana, who boxes out of Brendan Ingle’s stable, is handy, but Morrison should win on sheer determination. This match head the card in Motherwell.
Over in Dublin on Saturday super-bantam star-in-waiting Bernard Dunne should win the IBC belt (he’s got to keep his trousers up, I suppose) at the weight against future journeyman Sean Hughes. On the undercard, Brian Magee steps up to light-heavy following his controversial loss to Vitali Tsypko. Magee has never looked particularly tight at 168, so we should assume that this is a stay-busy fight more than anything – certainly the calibre of his opponent, Birmingham-base Armenian Varuzhan Davtyan, suggests nothing grander.
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