Selby Stops Munroe To Claim EBU Crown

By Owen Meek.

On Saturday night big time boxing returned to the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff. Home too many a historic nights in Welsh boxing history, Hearn & Matchroom had put on a card chock full of local talent. If the nights action is anything to go by then the city shouldn’t have to wait too long before boxing returns yet again.

In the main fight of the evening, Barry’s Lee Selby took on former World title challenger Rendall Munroe. The former was looking to show that he is more than capable of moving on to the world scene while for the latter the fight represented the last chance saloon.

Both men looked in great shape at the weigh in; but on the night only one man seemed to turn up. From the get go Selby looked in fine fettle, it was apparent that he was there to make a statement and unlike on past occasions he was switched on from the opening bell. His jab was working and his range was magnificent, picking off Rendall before fleeting out of range.

Whilst Munroe marched forward very little was being fired off, whether this was a case of him just not being able to pull the trigger anymore or because Selby had the measure of him only he knows. The first 5 rounds saw Selby utilise his speed and movement, his footwork crisp his punch combinations on the money. Much like Quigg had done back in 2012…Selby targeted the body of Munroe, opening his defences up before switching to the head. It was neat boxing and the man known as ‘The Binman’ simply had no answer.

The first 4 rounds ran with the same narrative; Munroe would walk forward, Selby would pick him off timing him on the way in and then moving away with ease and while Munroe found some success in the fifth it was very short lived.

After switching off slightly, Barry’s own version of ‘Floyd Mayweather’ landed a perfect right hand which had Munroe hurt. The man from Leicester backed up into the neutral corner where Selby began to unload. He was relentless as he released shot after shot and referee Ian John-Lewis soon waved the contest off.

Whilst some may have considered the stoppage soft, it was clear from ringside that Munroe’s simply had no answer. He took a fair few shots on the gloves & elbows after being hurt but after managing to get out from the corner he almost immediately got backed back in. With nothing coming back either he didn’t leave the referee with much of an option but to jump in.

It was an impressive performance from Lee Selby, who must now begin to look ahead to world level. While Munroe may have little left in the tank, Selby showed many of the attributes which have people believing he can make a real mark in the Featherweight division. His ability to find the range is excellent and with great punch combinations he is one of Britain’s best technical boxers…that being said in Rounds 4 & 5 he seemed to switch off a little, something which he has been accused of before. It is an area which he needs to work on because the names at the very top of the division will punish him if he does it even for a split second. For Munroe, he will be left questioning his future. He looked jaded and despondent for much of the fight and after a stellar ring career, there is little left to achieve for a man who rose to a level many never believed capable.

The fight which had everyone talking was the evening’s chief supporting act. A battle between two Welsh fighters which will most definitely be a contender for domestic fight of the year.

In the build-up questions surrounded both men; could Rees get himself up for a British eliminator, given he was boxing for a World title a mere 12 months ago and for Buckland, how would he come back after being brutally knocked out by Stephen Smith last year.

Both questions were answered within minutes of the contest starting. Rees seemed confident in the opening rounds, his hand speed causing Buckland problems. Whilst it was Gary forcing the pace it was Gavin forcing the action. His work was the cleaner of the two and his body shots couldn’t miss. By the end of the 3rd Buckland’s torso and ribs were marked up, to the point he looked like a British holiday maker who’d fallen asleep in the sun. Yet despite the continuous body shots he continued to plough forward in the 4th the momentum seemed to turn.

The constant pressure from Buckland caused the pace from Rees to drop and with ‘The Rock’ now finding himself in the pocket for longer it was the man from Cardiff who was getting the better of the exchanges.

Like a pendulum the contest continued to swing one way then the other by the end of the 6th both men’s mouths were agape such was the pace of the contest. Buckland was clearly finding his feet and though at this point Rees was ahead you could see the momentum turning.

Rounds 7, 8, 9 saw Gary Buckland firmly put himself back in the contest. He went out each round and marched his opponent down, where Rees had earlier used his foot movement, his legs were now heavy set…unable to get away from his man he instead found himself on the ropes having to trade, a game-plan more suited to Buckland. He was caught low a couple of times yet he remained undeterred as the fight became a battle of attrition…Rees’s trainer Gary Lockett almost walked him back to the corner at the end of the eighth.

Yet back came Rees in the 10th a second wind in his sails he began to land the cleaner shots again and working behind his jab he kept Buckland at bay a little more. After another tight round in the 11th it was clear that the fight could come down to the final round.

That final round is contender for round of the year; after embracing each other prior to the bell they then came out swinging, body shots and hooks landing at will. It was a round which summarised the fight as whole…two guys leaving nothing to chance, trading like their lives depended on it. As the final bell rung to signal the end of the contest the crowd ringside arose, a standing ovation for two guys who left it all in the ring and had given the fans a night to remember.

It came as little surprise that when the scores were announced it was a split decision, with Gary Buckland having his hand raised after winning on two of the 3 scorecards. (116-113, 113-116, 115-114). It was a contest which didn’t deserve a loser such was the performance of both. Many ringside had scored the fight to Rees, the consensus being he landed the more telling blows…I myself had the fight scored 116-114 in favour of ‘The Rock’.

Rees will now have to go away and consider his future, something he alluded to in the post-fight interview. He has lost 3 on the bounce and at the age of 34 and having been in some brutal fights one wonders how much he has left. He has been a credit to British boxing and provided us with plenty of great nights…I wouldn’t like to see him become a mere gatekeeper for domestic fighters.

For Buckland it’s a dramatic turnaround from a horrible 2013; he is now the number 1 contender for the British lightweight title (currently held by Martin Gethin) and could well see himself in the mix for fights with the likes of Terry Flanagan, John Murray & Kevin Mitchell in the not too distant future.

In the nights other action, Olympic star Anthony Joshua continued his ascend in paid ranks, easing to another victory over Dorian Darch. From the get go it was clear the writing was on the ball with Joshua finding the target whenever he threw…he had Darch wobbled on multiple occasions in the opening round and closed out the show in the second. Having taken Hughie Fury 6 rounds last year it was hoped that Darch would provide some resilience on the night; but again Joshua showed his power. He will need sterner tests and soon if he is to ensure complacency doesn’t set in but it has to be said his power is frightening. The jab just seems to stop people in their tracks, so hurtful is it that it had me & even former world champion Steve Robinson wincing at ringside every time it landed.

Also on the undercard, Dale Evans overcame Erik Ochieng 77-76 over 8 rounds, the Eagle seemingly not turning up until the 5th Round. Meanwhile one of British boxing’s stalwart journey men Jason Cook signed off his career with a fine 4th round stoppage win over Tony Pace. Elsewhere Kerry Hope picked up a points win over Paul Moffett, while Chris Jenkins dominated his fight with Frenchman Christopher Sebire to claim the vacant WBC International Light-Welterweight title. Swansea’s Tobias Webb & unbeaten Reading welterweight Tamuka Mucha also recorded wins.

http://v2journal.com/16/post/2014/02/selby-stops-munroe-to-claim-ebu-crown.html

Very soft stoppage in the Selby fight. Munroe was dodging, slipping and blocking the punches. Not many got through clean. So what if he wasnt throwing many punches back? By definition he was still lucid and defending himself. He got hurt by a punch and then began to ride it out. Selby waving the ref in to stop it was a con. Munroe was doing a decent job defending himself and Selby was using up a lot of energy without landing many clean shots. You never know what would have happened if Munroe was allowed to continue. There is a serious problem with the standard over here. The same 3 or 4 fat ass refs pop up every time ruining fights.

I thought while the stoppage was soft, I just didn't see Munroe catching Selby. Selby was quicker and hurt him a few times, however the stoppage by Ian John Lewis wasn't the best.

Whilst I agree the ref could have let it continue; I do think you have to take the perspective of the ref and what he actually saw. I was sat ringside at the fight catchweight and Munroe had been hurt, backed back into the corner where Selby raided punches down on him...the ref actually allowed Munroe to continue for a little while...at one point Munroe gets himself out of the corner but then just backs back into it again immediately afterwards. Selby threw somewhere in the region of 40 unanswered shots....whether they are landing (& some were) Rendall is a pro and should know he needed to throw back...he didn't.

Lest we forget that he was being comprehensively beat till that point anyway, certainly hadn't shown anything in those first 6 rounds to suggest he could turn it round even if the ref didn't jump...he barely pulled the trigger all night. Soft stoppage...yes...righting was on the wall though.

Its not in the rules that you have to be catching the other boxer. You just have to be defending yourself. Munroe was doing that quite capably while Selby was using up huge amounts of energy.

The writing is seldom on the wall in boxing. Selby would probably have won but he should be forced to earn the stoppage. Its happened in the past that boxers have punched themselves out in such situations or faded down the stretch.

catchweight wrote:The writing is seldom on the wall in boxing. Selby would probably have won but he should be forced to earn the stoppage. Its happened in the past that boxers have punched themselves out in such situations or faded down the stretch.

(cough Froch v Groves (cough) but then again Carl did cash in a few Warrior vouchers before the fight meaning he didn't have to do what other fighters have to do ie beat his man decisively

Burns had one a while ago where he got his arsed kicked for most of the fight and then his opponent ran out of gas and quit as well.

hampo171 wrote:I thought while the stoppage was soft, I just didn't see Munroe catching Selby. Selby was quicker and hurt him a few times, however the stoppage by Ian John Lewis wasn't the best.

Wasn't the best is doing a favour to the ref. One of the worst of recent times. It wasn't like he was taking a massive beating, he was just on the way to a one sided UD loss due to not being big enough and being a year or two past his best.

Incidentally, it was the same clown of a ref that stopped the Enzo Maccarinelli against McKenzie fight which was another farcical stoppage.

Soft stoppage, IMO, though only brought forward the inevitable.

Think I had Selby 5-1 up going into the 7th.

IJL is a joke, he shouldn't be reffing in the same way CJ Ross shouldn't be scoring.

I dind't think the stoppafge was that abd, people keep saying that he was only hitting elbows, but the shots were actually getting through if you watch it again?

AlexHuckerby wrote:I dind't think the stoppafge was that abd, people keep saying that he was only hitting elbows, but the shots were actually getting through if you watch it again?

Compared to a recent debatable stoppage he wasn't getting hit with much and they were all "Calzaghe pitter patter punches vs Manfredo Jr" esque. Munroe wasn't in need of the refs protection, as evidenced by him appearing totally fine as soon as the ref waved it off.

Hardly any of the shots were getting through clean. Munroe was doing a perfectly ok job riding it out.

I thought the stoppage was premature...........I must admit I feared the worst when I saw who was refereeing.......

Disappointing fight..........Selby did what he liked.......Time for Munroe to go back to refuse collection......A noble enough profession..

Don't want to have to see him again..........All mouth and no trousers......(sponsored by the Blue oyster)

owen10ozzy wrote:Whilst I agree the ref could have let it continue; I do think you have to take the perspective of the ref and what he actually saw. I was sat ringside at the fight catchweight and Munroe had been hurt, backed back into the corner where Selby raided punches down on him...the ref actually allowed Munroe to continue for a little while...at one point Munroe gets himself out of the corner but then just backs back into it again immediately afterwards. Selby threw somewhere in the region of 40 unanswered shots....whether they are landing (& some were) Rendall is a pro and should know he needed to throw back...he didn't.

Lest we forget that he was being comprehensively beat till that point anyway, certainly hadn't shown anything in those first 6 rounds to suggest he could turn it round even if the ref didn't jump...he barely pulled the trigger all night. Soft stoppage...yes...righting was on the wall though.

The ref is a pro and should know that a guy who's still defending himself shouldn't be stopped.

There's no one that can stop Selby. Munroe is a conqueror? No, he's no Alexander, Lee is Alexander. He's the best Featherweight ever!

There's never been anybody as ruthless! He's Willie Pep, he's Henry Armstrong

There's no one like him. He's from their cloth

There's no one that can match Lee. His style is impetuous, his defense is impregnable, and he's just ferocious!

Howard Foster or Ian John Lewis stop Selby in double quick time.