Bring on Hatton for the Commonwealth by Mike Bradley Feb 17th 2007

Glossop's Ali Nuumbembe produced the fight of his life to claim the Commonwealth welterweight title on a split decision from the previously unbeaten hometown hero Kevin Anderson at Kirkcaldy's Ice Arena on Friday night. And within moments of the final bell Nuumbembe's manager, Salford businessman Steve Wood, was calling for his fighter to face new IBF International champ Matthew Hatton. "The big fight we want now is Matthew Hatton," said Wood, "I have already asked him about it and he said yes. It would be a unique Commonwealth title fight between two local boxers. "Against Anderson, Ali proved he has plenty of boxing ability, plenty of heart and if we can develop a stiffer punch he would be difficult to beat at world level except for perhaps against the games elite fighters. "I always believed this was a genuine 50-50 fight, that Kevin Anderson was a puncher with Ali the better boxer and so it proved. Having three judges is a fair way to score a fight, it's too much and too hard to expect the referee to do it all. "Ali got caught early on but weathered the storm and for me the turning point was the seventh round, a massive round for Ali who really hurt Anderson and he never recovered."

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