Brodie makes sound defence and calls out Naseem!

By Murali Para

10.11 - Last night in Manchester, England, WBC/IBF#6 featherweight Michael Brodie put on a resilient display of boxing to come through his fight against 21-year-old Mexican domestic champ, Luis Fuente. The home favourite Brodie, holder of the little-regarded WBF featherweight bauble, was expected to win easily, but WBC#10 Fuente was not a man who showed up only to collect his purse. After his last outing against tough Argentine, Pastor Maurin in April, Brodie simply had to look good against Fuente to merit another shot at a true world title. Reportedly, Brodie was offered the last fight against Barrera before Tapia, but it was not possible to agree terms. This underlines the fact that it is at this level that Brodie, now 28, is looking to mix it up.

On top of all this, Brodie's British contemporaries have stolen much of the limelight recently - Scott Harrison recently claimed the WBO title after beating Julio Pablo Chacon, while Wayne McCullough has been looking impressive in his comeback. And of course Naseem Hamed - uncharacteristically quiet since his disappointing win over Manuel Calvo in April - promised Brodie a fight against him. This was very much part of the incentive last night to win in style. Brodie, (34-1), went into the fight with only one defeat - this was in a WBC title bid at Super-Bantamweight against Willie Jorrin in 2000 and the decision was hotly disputed. Meanwhile, the young Mexican, Fuente had a winning streak of 13 and benefited from maturity and experience way beyond his years.

For the 1st half of the fight, Brodie and Fuente were inseparable. Brodie spent the early rounds working out the Mexican's style. When trying to land his trademark body blows, Brodie found his opponent to be a very elusive target, as Fuente showed very fast movement and impressive skills, including a solid jab. What Fuente lacked in power he made up for with a high volume of punches when he connected with sporadic flurries. Brodie often missed but when he found the target, his punches were clean and hard. Bit by bit he was slowing Fuente down. The 8th round was probably the turning point; Brodie landed several punishing body blows and his opponent winced visibly. I had Brodie only a single point ahead at the end of the 9th, but felt that he did enough to take all of the final rounds.

Ultimately, Brodie showed his pedigree by taking a unanimous points decision, the judges scoring the fight with wide margins of 119-111, 118-112 and 117-113. I concurred with the last of these score lines and thought that the others did not reflect the challenger's good work throughout the bout. In the post-fight interview, Brodie made it clear in no uncertain terms who and what was on his mind; looking straight at the camera, he invited Naseem Hamed to fight him. It was, he said, what he wanted, what Naz wanted and what the British boxing public wanted. It was suggested that the match could be made in Manchester next spring. Now the ball is in the Prince's court.