Here Comes the Payne 10.26.09: War of the Roses and More
Posted by Michael Payne on 10.26.2009
The main focus this week is on probably the British fight of the year which took place on Friday night. It was dubbed War of the Roses and we certainly got a war between Jamie Moore and Ryan Rhodes...
This fight was always going to be a great spectacle to watch. It was a fight not only for the European light middleweight title but it also doubled as a WBC title eliminator. The champion Moore was the tough local lad on the night and was the favorite to win going into the bout. Rhodes was the man who once had it all at his feet when he was the youngest man to win a Lonsdale belt outright in over fifty years but has since been written of so many times. It was the biggest test and the biggest opportunity of both men's exciting careers so far.
Moore who is seen as the more powerful of the two came out dominating from the first round, pushing Rhodes hard and making it his sort of tough battle. Rhodes surprisingly seemed happy to battle it out toe to toe with the stronger man rather than trying to use his skills to keep out of his way and pick him apart. The two battled it out and Rhodes showed early on he could handle the power of the champ, having been caught with several big shots and soaking them up. The plan was working for Moore up until late in the 4th round when there was a hint that Rhodes could be growing in confidence when he started to raise his game and showed he had some power of his own to add to the mix.
Round five onwards was where the tide started to turn further, for the first time we started to see Rhodes using the ring more and counter punching with better effect but Moore being an all action kind of guy still kept coming.
Round seven was the telling round when Rhodes caught Moore with a short right hook which dropped the champion to the canvass. Moore got up and looked like he had recovered well, firing back hard at Rhodes, then towards the end of the round Moore dropped his guard long enough for Rhodes to connect with a good right hand that fired Moore back into the ropes. Rhodes was then never going to let this go and rained the punches down on Moore until the referee had no choice but to step in.
After the fight Rhodes said after the first round he knew he needed to change his game plan saying "I told everyone it was going to be a tough fight. I knew the first half was going to be tough, but second half I thought I would take over. After the first round and he was pressuring me I thought, I have got to change my game plan here, I have got to stand and take everything he throws and come back with my shots. I knew he would be on me all night if I was on my back foot and I would waste energy."
Moore was gracious in defeat saying "Obviously the better man won at the end of the day, we had a game plan and it didn't quite work out. I wasn't on my game but not taking anything away from him, he fought out of his skin, fought me at my own game and beat me. What can you say, fair play to him."
Rhodes is now the European champion is also in a prime position for a world title shot and I feel that finally it is his time. When he first exploded on the British scene he looked a cert for world glory but always fell short at the last hurdle. The man who was known as 'Spice Boy' just didn't have that extra bit of grit to get it done. He know looks at the best I have seen him. Rhodes has since said he wants to look at making a few defenses of his newly acquired title before fighting at world level but personally I would like to see him go for it as soon as he gets a chance. He is at his best right now and should make the most of it. For the readers in the states who are not familiar with Rhodes, check him out and in particular this fight. I am not saying he is the best fighter in the world or anything like that but at the age of 32 I see the time is finally right for him and any boxing fan will enjoy this battle of the best two light middleweights in the UK today.
As for Moore, where does this leave him? At 30 he still has enough left in the tank to come back from this. There have been reports that making the weight was a factor for him in this one so I expect him to step up to middleweight very soon and challenge Matthew Maklin for his European Middleweight title, a man Moore beat by tenth round KO back in 2006.
Other British News:
The Prizefighter series is set to return on December 4th at light welterweight with Gavin Rees topping the bill. The former WBA champ heads the strongest line up to date which in total consists of 1 former world champion, 3 former European champions and 3 former British champions. The list of fighters joining him includes Ted Bami, Jason Cook, Colin Lynes and Young Mutley. Don't miss my full review of the fighters nearer the time.
Amir Khan has stated he is considering moving to the States and has pointed the figure of blame at WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch and British lightweight champion John Murray for their verbal attacks on him. Khan already spends time training in LA since joining forces with Freddie Roach but he sees them as being jealous of him. I like Amir Khan but he needs to realize this is all part of the game. If Froch doesn't rate someone then he says so, in the words of our very own Ryan Bates, he calls a spade a spade. Murray on the other hand has wanted so desperately to get Khan in the ring with him. He sees himself as a better fighter, he believes that Khan gets all the publicity so he wants to dog him into a fight. That's the way the business works Amir, sorry!
Next week I will be bringing you amongst other things my preview of Valuev Vs Haye.
