By Ian S Palmer
There’s an IBF Featherweight eliminator in Sheffield, England this Saturday, Feb. 8th as Qatari-born Kid Galahad fights in his adopted hometown when he meets Claudio Marrero of the Dominican Republic. The 12-round bout will be shown on DAZN in North America while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports. Galahad last fought in June when he lost a split decision to IBF World Champion Josh Warrington. Marrero was last in the ring in June as well when he beat Eduardo Ramirez by a 12-round unanimous decision.
The 29-year-old Galahad was born Abdul Barry Awad in Doha,Qatar and resides in Sheffield. He enters the ring with a near perfect record of 26-1 with 15 Kos with his only loss coming at the hands of Warrington in his last bout. He’s got decent power with a current knockout ratio of 55.6 per cent but isn’t known as a banger. He’s gone the distance in his last three outings but stopped all six of his previous half dozen opponents. Galahad is just over 5-feet-6-inches tall but unfortunately his reach is unlisted. He turned pro back in 2009 and has boxed 163 rounds since.
Back in May of 2015 Galahad was handed a two-year ban for failing a drug test but the suspension was later reduced to 18 months. Since turning pro he’s won several minor and regional titles along the way such as the WBC International, British, European, and Commonwealth Super Bantamweight Titles as well as the IBF Youth Super Bantamweight Crown and the IBF Inter-Continental Featherweight Title. His biggest wins have come against Toka Khan Clary, Irving Berry, Jose Cayetano and Adeilson Dos Santos and Jason Booth.
Marrero is a 30-year-old southpaw with a record of 24-3 with 17 Kos. He’s been beaten at the hands of Tugstogt Nyambayar by 12 round unanimous decision last January as well as being stopped by Jesus Rojas in 2017 and also dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Jesus Cuellar in 2013. The fights with Cuellar and Rojas were for the interim WBA Featherweight Title while the bout against Nyambayar was for the vacant IBO Featherweight Crown.
Marrero did manage to win the interim WBA Featherweight Title and the vacant IBO Belt in April of 2017 though when he stopped Carlos Zambrano in just 90 seconds. He then lost the titles to Rojas in his next fight just five months later. He also captured the WBC Fecarbox, WBA Fedelatin, and NABA Featherweight Straps in 2012. Marrero’s biggest wins have been against Emmanuel Lucero, Mauricio Martinez, Rico Ramos, Jonathan Arrellano, Luis Hinojosa and Jorge Lara.
However, he’s lost two of his last four fights. He’s just over 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 68-inch reach which puts him at the same height as Galahad. Marrero has decent power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 63 per cent and even though he’s been stopped once his chin has been generally reliable up to now. He made his pro debut in 2010 and has 129 rounds of experience. Before that he enjoyed a fine amateur career.
Marrero won a silver medal at the 2007 Pan American Games as a bantamweight, losing to Carlos Cuadras of Mexico in the final and also fought at the 2009 tournament. He boxed at the 2009 World Amateur Championships, won a gold medal at the 2006 Pan American Junior Championships made the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Junior Championships, and won a silver medal at the 2007 2nd Pan Am Qualifier when he lost to Cuba’s Guillermo Rigondeaux in the final. He also won bronze at the 2008 America’s Olympic Qualifier and the 2009 Pan American Championships.
Prediction…
Galahad’s power has been missing in action lately and he’s a bit methodical but he’s got fine boxing skills and a solid chin. The majority of his stoppages have come in the first half of fights but he can be a bit boring when forced to go the distance. Marrero has plenty of experience and more power but unless he fights a perfect fight or stops Galahad, which is unlikely, I’m expecting the hometown Galahad to win the fight.
