11.04.04 – By Gavin Macleod at Ringside – WBC featerweight title goes to Seoul. Korea’s In-Jin Chi became the new WBC featherweight champion yesterday (April 10th) as he defeated Manchester’s Michael Brodie in an eagerly awaited rematch of their UK Fight of the year from October 2003. The fight, which was again staged at Brodie’s hometown Manchester Evening News Arena, was another fantastic match-up, but the outcome was to be very different to the horrendous draw that marred the first battle between the pair.
The Arena had been opened out more due to the increase in ticket sales this time around and another change was the hundred or so Korean fans in attendance making a very vocal show of support for their fighter. A fighter who last time seemed cool and clam before the fight but this time was absolutely brimming with confidence. A fact that was shown when, during an undercard bout, Chi went into the stands to meet his fans who were shocked to see a lone spectator stand up and reveal himself as the man from Seoul. He chatted for a few minutes and gave his hat to one lucky fan before departing to get ready for his fight.
Michael Brodie on the other hand was looking a lot tenser than he did before the first fight. He was focused but his eyes and his body language seemed to convey an aura of pensiveness that was not present on October the 18th last year. He received a rousing reception from the crowd of around 5,500 spectators and this set the tone for the rematch, which many had waited for since their absolute epic first encounter. He knew things had to be done differently, he knew he had to box more and not get as involved but Chi had his own game plan and the time had finally arrived to see just who’s plan would work.
Round one began with the customary feeling out process in which Brodie looked to try and find range with his jab early on. He did so almost instantly as he landed some solid lead lefts into the face of his opponent. Chi was coming forward hoping to catch his man on the ropes or in a corner before letting go with his punches. When Chi did open up, his work was either missing or hitting gloves and Brodie maintained good movement and a tight guard for the opening minute or so. Then, as Brodie was on the ropes, Chi caught him with a good left to the body and a left uppercut, which rocked back Michael’s head. He wheeled away from the ropes and made Chi miss with a combination but as Brodie went to the body he left himself wide open and Chi launched a looping right hand, which crashed off Brodie’s face and sent him down. It was a terrible start to the fight for Brodie but he rose at three and after an eight count he showed his warriors and got right back into a tear-up with Chi. The Korean landed some very good shots but Brodie was able to land some of his own and made it out of the first round.
The second round began well for Brodie as he managed to make Chi miss and land some good shots to the body, most notably a left uppercut. Chi however, seems immune to such abuse and continued to stalk Brodie, unfazed by what was being thrown at him and he came off best in an exchange with Brodie trapped on the ropes once again. Some of Chi’s punches hit the gloves of Brodie but the sheer volume of punches that he was throwing ensured that something would land, and land they did. With Brodie looking to get his famed body attack working he was steeping in close, into Chi territory, as he was continually met by a two fisted assault on his arrival. Another round closed and already people were scratching their head trying to figure out what it would take for Brodie to dent Chi, who looked near enough a light welterweight on the night.
Stanza Three opened with both men meeting in close, and again it was Chi who came off better as he rifled in a double right hand to Brodie’s midriff. Brodie shrugged him off and landed a great left hook right hand combination but once more Chi just stepped back, tapped his gloves together and waded back in. Chi opened up with a four-punch combination but Brodie was able to block it before catching Chi with a right-left combination. Chi pressed on landing two good rights, one to the head and one to the body of Brodie who took them well and banged in a left hand whilst circling right and out of danger, which brought a nod of acceptance from Chi, knowing it was a good shot. A left hook-left jab from Brodie bounced off of Chi but it seemed to signal Brodie coming into the fight a bit more, and he then found his money punch, thumping a left hook into the ribs of Chi, who grimaced and then went after the Manchester man. Here he was made to miss and punished by a swift combination from Brodie rounded off by another left hook downstairs. This stopped Chi briefly and once again it was clear that if Brodie was to hurt Chi, then it would take body shots to do so. Confidence was beginning to creep into Brodie as he was landing easier now and kept making his opponent miss. Part of the Brodie gameplan was putting Chi on the backfoot and Michael was carrying this out well now and at the rounds end the crowd roared feeling maybe the tide was turning in their favour.
Brodie seemed to be getting it together in the fourth and a right hand to the body had Chi taking a sharp inhalation of air. But then after some good defensive work from Brodie he got caught by a big left hook that contorted his head round and he reeled back to the ropes. Chi smelt blood and came in to try and capitalise but Brodie is no lie down fighter and fought back with a left hook and a right uppercut in close. As they clinched Brodie freed his right hand and boomed it deep into the abdominal region, which again made Chi step back and re-evaluate. He came forward again and managed to get Brodie on the ropes but Michael moved away. Then came a clash of heads which saw Chi get a small cut on his left eyebrow. In accordance with WBC rulings Brodie was deducted a point as he was the non-cut fighter and fans began to get a sense of Déjà vu from fight number one. When action resumed a Chi right hurt Brodie but he covered up well to block the flurry from Chi who seemed to be back in firm control of the action.
In round five the action was scrappy with both men battling at close quarters and both having their relative successes. As in round four the head banged together and both held a glove to the site of impact and glared at the referee Marco Barrovecchio from Italy who warned them both to keep the heads up. Brodie then landed two lefts that drew a roar from the crowd as they urged him on in the hope that he could find the major breakthrough which was required. It never came but he was again landing the better shots at the rounds end when as with the previous rounds, both men touched gloves before walking back to their corners.
In the sixth Chi ‘s workrate was not as furious but he was still the aggressor and pushed Brodie back who never really answered the aggression with any punches of real substance. After a body shot from Brodie the heads came together and Chi remonstrated to Mr Barrovecchio once more. In the last thirty seconds of the round Brodie caught Chi with some nice right hands but Chi showed utter distain for them as he just smiled and motioned for Brodie to come to him again. He then managed to turn Brodie in the corner and unleashed a ferocious barrage that was unanswered. Brodie walked back to his corner with eyes swelling and bleeding from the nose but more importantly he looked dispirited.
The seventh round proved to be a bridge to far for the game hometown favourite as Chi just poured on the pressure, firing out punch after punch and never taking a backward step. On the ropes Brodie again found a great spot for his left hand on Chi’s ribcage but that only halted the barrage momentarily. When Brodie threw one punch Chi would throw two and as was the story of the fight, Chi’s toughness and appearance of being immune to pain was just too great an obstacle to overcome. Chi landed with a right hand which put Brodie back in a corner and from the ringside seats you could see the smile all over Chi’s face as he attacked Brodie with both hands. Brodie responded with a big left hook but it just banged off Chi’s titanium jaw to no avail. Brodie was on the ropes and in trouble and he tried to fire back landing with a left and a right but he did so at a price. He was open to a counter and Chi connected with a great right to the body and a big left uppercut that sent Brodie down to the canvas and looking in pain. It was here that his dream was shattered as he was counted out by the referee negating the need for judges Tom Kaczmarek (USA), Ken Morita (Jap) and Bob Logist (Bel) much to the delight of the Chi camp.
Brodie was devastated but after the fight he ensured his fans that he would return to the ring and that this would not be his final hoorah. Certainly many felt that the fight was just a case of too many hard nights catching up with Brodie but in reality he was just beating by a scintillating display of pressure fighting by an opponent who has shown that he is for real.
With Manny Pacquiao set to face Juan Manuel Marquez in the future and Chi no establishing himself as a threat, the featherweight division is looking very attractive at the moment. You still have Marco Antonio Barrera looking for a way back and the WBO champion Scott Harrison would relish the opportunity to try and unify his title with the WBC against Chi. But one things is for sure, Chi is a bona fide world class operator who you will overlook at your peril.
As for what Michael Brodie does now, remains to be seen, but he can feel proud of his effort and should have no shame in his performance and all the British public wish him the best and hope to see him back in the mix as soon as possible.