By Ian S Palmer
Super bantamweight prospect Scott Quigg of England will be taking on fellow countryman Rendall Munroe at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England this Saturday November 24. This will be a rematch of their bout earlier this year which was called off in the third round due to a nasty cut over the eye of Munroe. That bout was ruled a technical draw and the rematch, like the first contest in June, will be a 12-round contest for the Interim WBA World Super Bantamweight Championship.
The undefeated Quigg will enter the ring with an excellent record of 24-0-1 with 17Kos while Munroe will climb through the ropes with a 24-2-1 record with 10Kos. The winner could land a shot at another good British 122-pounder in Carl Frampton. The 24-year-old Quigg is looking forward to the fight as he believes the 32-year-old Munroe is a world-class boxer and he wants to prove that he not only belongs in the same ring with the best in the world, but he can also beat them.
Quigg can probably get by with a loss at this stage of his career due to his age, but Munroe can’t really afford to be beaten if he hopes to land another shot at a world championship. He fought Japanese star Toshiaki Nishioka in Tokyo in October of 2010 and even though he put up a good fight the southpaw came out on the wrong end of a 12-round unanimous decision.
This fight should be able to tell the fans if Munroe is still a world-class boxer and if Quigg is really a contender. Quigg turned pro back in 2007 and has been quite busy since then. He’s knocked out three of his last four opponents and his best wins have come against Jason Booth, Franklin Varela, and Jamie Arthur. If Quigg can beat Munroe he’ll be elevated in the world rankings and could be a force to reckon with in the future.
Munroe began his professional career in 2003 and has impressive wins over Kiko Martinez, Ryuta Miyagi, and Victor Terrazas. He’s a former British and European Champion and has plenty of experience. He’ll be in against a fighter in Quigg who has a pretty good defence as well as some power, especially in his left hook. Quigg likes to go to the body and has a lot of poise in the ring for a youngster. He’s also a former British champion as he won the Junior Featherweight crown when he stopped Jason Booth in the seventh round last year.
When Quigg and Munroe met in June the first two rounds were pretty even, but an accidental head butt forced the referee to call the fight off during the third round. Munroe will need to put the pressure on Quigg to build up a lead on the scorecards. He moves around the ring pretty good, blocks punches well and has a good jab, but doesn’t have a lot of power in his shots.
Munroe will try to box more while Quigg will be the puncher. If Quigg stays active and throws his shots in combinations he’ll fare better. It should be a close fight and an entertaining one, but it should also go the full 12 rounds this time with Quigg taking it on a relatively close decision.
