By Ian S Palmer
“Fast” Eddie Chambers, a former American heavyweight contender, will drop down to cruiserweight this Saturday Aug. 3 when he takes on hard-hitting Thabiso Mchunu of South Africa at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. The bout will be a 10 rounder and will be broadcast across North America on NBC’s sports network.
The 31-year-old Chambers is 36-3 and has 18 Kos to his name and has lost two of his past three contests. The drop down in weight could be a good idea since he hasn’t been too successful with the bigger heavyweights and he could get a title shot in the lighter division. However, he plans to return to the heavyweight ranks at some point in the future. First of all he has to get past the 24-year-old southpaw Mchunu.
The South African will enter the ring with a record of 13-1 along with 10 Kos. He’s young and inexperienced, but has quite a bit of power. This will be his first bout outside of his homeland after winning three titles in Africa. Mchunu is regarded as a good prospect, but hasn’t fought any top class opponents as of yet. This will definitely be his first shot at an elite boxer. However, Chambers hasn’t fought in just over a year and could suffer from a slight case of ring rust.
Chambers is tall and quite rangy with a fine jab and footwork. He’s got very fast hands and a good defense and knows how to fight at distance. He’s got a lot of experience, but what he doesn’t have a lot of is power, at least he didn’t in the heavyweight division. He’s gone the distance in each of his last half dozen contests. Another one of his problems is that he just doesn’t throw enough punches. It’s hard to win fights against top opposition if you don’t let your fists go and he found this out in losses to Tomasz and Wladimir Klitschko.
Chambers will have to throw more shots if he hopes to keep the powerful Mchunu from just walking through him. Chambers will also have to adapt to the South African’s southpaw style and make sure he throws out some effective right hands. Mchunu is the more aggressive boxer, but he often suffers from the same thing Chambers does and doesn’t punch enough. This could lead to quite an uninspiring bout for the fans. He needs to work his way to the inside against the American and land short power punches when he has the opportunity.
Prediction
If Chambers comes to fight and throw punches he’ll need to establish his jab from the opening bell. He also needs to keep Mchunu at distance with his reach and height advantage. If he can throw quick accurate combinations he should be successful. He’s got a decent chin and his opponent will be smaller than him for a change. Chambers has the better boxing skills, but also needs to be in peak condition. Of course, it will also depend on who throws the most punches. At the end of 10 rounds look for chambers to pull off a decision win.
