Ali Nuumbembe Boxes and Blasts his way to victory fifteen. by Terry Dooley Feb 13th 2006

Yesterday at the GH Carnell Leisure Centre in Trafford Manchester Ali Nuumbembe, 15 -1 -1 (6) scored a hard-fought point's win over steel-chinned Segey Starkov now, 14 – 33 – 2 (2) from Serbia. Starkov was a late substitute for Joshua Okine but Nuumbembe shrugged off any disappointment he felt outside the ring to dominate his opponent in the ring in front of a voraciously vocal crowd. Hopefully this win will consolidate a number one ranking for the Commonwealth title and set up a potentially fascinating clash with Kevin Anderson. Ali had been on a streak of three stoppage wins in a row so naturally he may have been disappointed not to get Sergey out of there. KO streaks must end at some point; it is better for them to end in victory yet it is also they end in the right type of victory. KO streaks that end with the power puncher swinging his way wildly to an unimpressive win is a negative way to snap the streak. On the other hand if your KO streak must end it is better if you finish that streak against a tough guy by trying to bang him out then settling into the fight and mixing up your banging and boxing in order to take the KO if it comes; if it does not then there is no reason to be disappointed has you have the chance to try new things. Starkov came out with a solid, compact look about him; plus he carries the record of rarely being stopped and always puts up a tough fight on these shores. Ali bounced to the ring to the strains of a local band playing “Feeling Hot” with the chorus refrain changed to “Ali! Ali!” and this really got the crowd whipped up; the crowd itself was comprised of his local support from Glossop as well as a healthy, vocal Namibian contingent sporting Namibian flags. The main event had been changed to an 8 x 3 rounds attraction with Starkov weighing in at 11st whilst Ali came in at 10st 12lbs. When they both disrobed their physiques differed greatly with Ali looking chiselled whereas Serkov looked soft in his body yet he also looked ready for the fight. Both men to started the fight with a purpose, Ali wanted the KO and Serkov wanted to avoid the KO consequently the scene was set for a frustrating night when Ali unloaded in round one only to see the wily Serkov catching a inordinate amount of shots on his gloves. Serkov looked plodding but solid as he marched Ali down looking to land the right-hand flush whilst keeping his own guard tight. Ali planted his feet and started digging in powerful, fast shots in particular solid left-hooks to the body followed by chopping right-hands and at one point a nice right-uppercut that slashed through the middle of the high guard. Serkov had a brief success with a nicely timed jab but was punished with crisp return jab. Although punching hard Ali seemed a little tense in the first round, it was a round he had won clearly plus he had the added bonus of Serkov already looking red around the face. Round two started with Ali turning his man well then popping him with left-hooks plus almost constant left-hook spadework to the body and head; Serkov was soon sporting a red welt on the right side of his body. Yet Serkov seemed untroubled by a lot of the shots as he let them bounce of his tight guard then threw his own wide right-hand. Ali created a big cheer by throwing a fast arcing left-jab, right-cross and left-hook then mixed in some fast uppercuts as he again turned his man inside. Ali was pouring all his power into every shot but Serkov was still stoically marching Ali down in the hope that his opponent would punch himself out. Ali had thrown a lot of shots in this round and finished by catching Serkov with a solid left-hook right at the end of the round. In round three Serkov started to come out of his shell a little more and landed a nice left-hook to the body then bulled Ali to the ropes to try and sap the Namibians strength. Ali spun Serkov and poured on his own shots but Sergey took some lovely shots then came back with a jab that snapped Ali's head back. By now it was clear that bombing Serkov's tight guard was going to prove difficult and what is more Serkov was now taking some steam off the shots with his body movement. Ali fired some big shots including a big right-hand but then got a little wild with his punches including a wide right-hand that missed. Ali mixed-up his left-hook by firing to body and head then moved to the side to see if any gaps were present there, Ali looked stronger as he dug in his shots including an unorthodox left-uppercut right at the rounds end. I felt that perhaps Ali was slightly frustrated by the rock in front of him after this round; despite taking many shots Serkov was catching a lot of them on his arms. Would Ali punch himself out at some point? One criticism of Ali is that his shots are hard and fast but are always the same consistency; his speed and power remain at he same level all the time and this gives men like Serkov the chance to acclimatise to the shots. By round four you could see Serkov had gotten used to the speed and power of Ali; it was noticeable that Serkov would wait for Ali to commit then brace himself physically for the assault. Serkov is so small and compact that you would probably need a banana skin to put him over but if you hit him with a volume of similar shots the chances are he'll take them all night. It made for a frustrating fight for Ali but in round four he seemed to decide to preserve his hands for a big finish and started to box with his punches coming in crowd pleasing spurts. Ali used good lateral movement to try and work the angles for clear, clean shots to the head of Serkov. Serkov was content to cuff Ali but began to look slightly bemused by the new style Ali was showing him. Bemused or not the Serbian merely marched forward absorbing everything Ali could throw including that steady staple of body-shots. Ali had shown good lateral movement in this round to preserve his hands as well as energy although he did get in a solid left-right-left in at the end. Serkov had revealed that he had come in from temperatures of –56 degrees only to find that Ali was warming him up by slinging one, two's and three's at him even after powering down in round four. Rounds five and six followed a similar pattern as round four with Ali mixing up his styles to try and create tiny spaces in the tight guard of Serkov. The crowd was ecstatic every time Ali threw a punch yet in these rounds Serkov was showing a slightly more constructive absorption of blows as he tried desperately to counter. Unfortunately Serkov was too slow, too flat-footed and smothered by his own guard to generate much of an impact with his clubbing shots; he must have been hoping Ali would grow tired. For his part Ali was boxing behind a fast jab, digging that constant left to the body and then bursting through occasionally with quick one-two's. Ali is fast and sharp but as stated he maybe needed to vary his punching speed and power in order to try and befuddle Serkov as it was clear blasting him won't work. You would need to get him with a quick, clean shot and most importantly one he had not already steeled his body for. Still it was a good display of boxing skill from a fighter who had been used to KO-ing people in recent fights. By the end of round six Serkov was looking jaded but solid, he had taken a lot of body-shots and Ali had started to mix in left-uppercuts plus that chopping right-hand was taking over the fight as Ali was content to let it land on either the gloves or the chin. Perhaps feeling that his hands could stand a few more rounds of hitting that tough head of Serkov, plus mindful that he had dug the body well, Ali started to power up again in the penultimate round. Ali opened up with a genuinely world-class burst of three left hooks, body-head-body fast and hard followed by a right-hand which seemed to give Serkov even more to think about. Ali had not abandoned his body investment and to counter the fact Serkov was elbow blocking them Ali started to loop the right-hand to the body and was crunching it into the ribs. Serkov was not done though and surprised everyone by catching Ali with some clubbing right-hands plus the odd flurry along the ropes yet when Ali dug his toes into the canvas Serkov covered-up to avoid the blows. Sergey was so resolute it was great to watch and even when he looked discouraged he'd get his head up and fire back to give Ali some problems to solve in there. Round eight saw both men mutually appreciative of a tough encounter and Ali started to step in with spiteful jabs that set up uppercuts to the body as Ali worked inside. Credit must be given to Serkov as he went for broke and got Ali with a few decent cuffs but was clinching more with the finishing line in sight. Ali seemed to stun Serkov with the kind of unorthodox blow he should have thrown earlier, a slower but solid right-hand to the ear of the man from Serbia. Perhaps eager to preserve that KO run Ali smothered his work a little in search of the elusive fight finishing shot. What Ali did get was a booming right-hand that set Serkov up for a bit of shoeshine at the end as Ali laced in quick shots whilst moving on his toes. When the bell rang the crowd roared their appreciation for the effort both men had shown. Serkov got a great reception as pretty much everyone around me muttered that he was one of the toughest fighters they had seen in the flesh. It was no surprise that Ali won at a canter 80 – 72 but he had learned a few lessons in this fight. Ali Nuumbembe's KO run had not ended with him swinging wildly to a point's win he had banged early, boxed in the middle then preserved a final two rounds of punching to send the fans home happy, I'm not sure about Serkov though. Ali stepped up the pace for a KO that never came yet that is better than searching desperately for it and tiring oneself out. Serkov is too short and compact to get KO'd easily and he apparently told the MC that Serbia was so cold he was just glad to be here, perhaps he lasted so long because he was enjoying being under the hot ring-lights. Ali had looked fit and strong and as I waiting for Ali I asked Matthew Hatton for his thoughts: “It was a good fight. Ali boxed well and having boxed Starkov myself I know he is as tough as they come and it is no wonder he's only been stopped a few times. He is so compact you have little target to aim for and Ali got some good combinations in and a good workout. I'll be fighting next in Monaco and then on Ricky's undercard in the USA then maybe I'll get a shot at the British title around Christmas. I'm improving all the time and deserve my shot; I've been brought along slowly as I only had 20 odd amateur fights. I was just here today to support Ali. Me and Ali? Definitely down the line; we've sparred together and if he brings the commonwealth title home then I bring the British title maybe we could fight down the line.” Bob Shannon told me in the dressing room after the fight that he had told Ali to adapt and box: “In case he hurt his hands on the guys head. I was worried about his hands; the kid didn't give him an inch in there. That extra mile we do on our runs paid off.” As for Ali himself he seemed pleased with the fight: “He is a tough lad and had a good defence. I decided to box him instead of fighting him to show that I am capable of doing anything, if I need to box I can box. The first two rounds I tried to see if I could penetrate his defence but then Bob told me to start boxing. My body shots were working as well. I appreciate the support I got from Manchester and Namibia and I'll keep my career going. I hope to find out about my next fight but am going home first to see my family. Thanks to all the fans for their support today.” A varied undercard saw two very mixed debuts as firstly Lightweight Danny Harding now, 1 – 0 (0) boxed his way to a 6 x 2 rounds points win over Gavin Deacon, 0 – 2 (0). Danny enjoyed good vocal support and in the early rounds showed some tidy in and out boxing that contrasted well with his opponents' methodical movements. Harding poped in fast one two's and although not powerful his shots were hurtful as they slashed in. Gavin Deacon had moments where he would land single shots yet lacked a follow-up to them. Late-on Harding gained in confidence and had his man hurt with body-shots yet frustratingly was unable to follow-up on them. It was a good debut win on points for Harding; he had some good, if at times erratic, lateral movement yet may need to start sitting on his shots a bit more as a pro. Fight two saw another debutant in Lee Kellet 0 – 1 (0) from Manchester weight 13st 10lbs, Cruiserweight, who came out throwing lead-left hooks at John Anthony from Doncaster, who weighed 13st 12lbs. Kellet was overeager so committed himself with every swing, hardly able to believe his luck John stepped back then countered a lunging left-hook with a right-hand to the temple. Kellet immediately looked gone so the following right-hands he took hardly helped him regain his composure, with his defences scattered and his legs gone it was no surprise to see the referee step in to step the fight after only 1.03 of the first round. Kellet looked big and strong; he had gone out looking for trouble and had found it in his pro debut. John Anthony improves to 3 – 1 (2) In the third fight, a Welterweight clash, John “Rocco” Hussey now, 4 – 0 (0) boxed his way to a six round decision over Tye Williams 2 – 4 - 1 (1). Rocco looked in control as he immediately took the ring centre then boxed his way through the first two rounds. It was nice controlled boxing with plenty of quick jabs and right-hands thrown but then in round two Williams seemed to relax more, he caught Rocco with two consecutive right-hands at the end of the round that seemed to stun the man from Bolton. Hussey's confidence seemed to drain away and he was noticeably stiff in rounds three and four whereas Williams became more effective in his countering and shot picking. John was being made to fight by the bulling of Williams then things got worse as he was grazed on his left eyebrow. After four entertaining rounds I had both men on two rounds a piece so it was anyone's fight. Williams started to fade just as Rocco began to box with purpose. A classy right-hook, right-uppercut from Hussey took some wind out of Tye who was backed-up then out-punched to the point that he started to rely on single shots. Hussey stuck to his combinations looking particularly good with his right-hand shots. Rocco punched with purpose in the final round to carry the round and in my opinion the fight. I had John winning an interesting fight 58 – 56 but the referee saw it as a shut-out 60 – 55. Hussey came through a sticky patch and may have learned a lot from this fight, when he was relaxed he boxed fluidly and picked his shots well. In the other fights Gary O'Conner now 4 – 0 (1) beat Lance Verallo 0 – 13 in four rounds although his opponent was ducking low and seemingly looking for a way out early in the fight. Verallo was dipping low after shots and looking distressed yet Gary stuck to his job and whipped in some wide shots to the body and head. Some of the shots were too wide but O'Connor sensed the end was coming in round four and poured it on to prompt the ref to intervene and stop the fight. Undefeated Welterweight Mark Thompson now 4 – 0 (2) boxed the initially aggressive, plus very late-substitute, Darren Gethin 3 – 6 – 3 (1) over six rounds. Thompson punched well but his guard was wide at times plus he also occasionally ducked too low with his head down only to find that Gethin was not able to punish this mistake. Gethin is fast and fluid at times so could develop into an interesting boxer but he needs tighten up his guard a little then put more of his shoulder into an already well-delivered jab. Combination wise his variety will hold him in good stead for future bouts. Thomson was busy throughout, perhaps a little over-eager as well, and thoroughly deserved his 40 – 36 win over a very game substitute. Finally Howard Clarke celebrated his 102nd fight, 27 – 72 – 2 – 1 NC (7), by fiddling his way through six rounds with a young fighter in Craig Bunn, who weighed 11st 6lbs and is now 2 – 0 (0). Bunn boxed well within himself as Clarke, who weighed 12st exactly, used all his experience to run down the timer. Bunns would let loose with clusters of shots that were mostly blocked but when he did get through he showed good speed. Bunn let loose with a very nice left-jab, right-hand, left-hook and a nice uppercut in round two, his hand speed impressed at this point as he was finding it hard to get Clarke with follow-up shots. Clarke clowned a bit as he sense the finishing line was in sight and to his credit Bunn took it well and responded by giving Clarke a playful tap with his foot. Once the pattern was set Bunn flurried into the gloves of Clarke and pierced his defence with occasional single shots. When the final bell went it was no surprise to hear the Bunn had won 60 – 55. Clarke had survived and on this day the survivalists had made the house fighters look good. Bunn looked eager and slightly open at times but his hands are quick enough to disguise this for now. You have to respect the fact he took on the experienced Clarke after only one fight. Clarke only gets hit a few times a round and people may say Bunn did not learn a great deal but it was a good experience for the inexperienced novice.  Photos by Karl Stubbs - www.karlstubbs.com

Go back Comment on this article | Send to a friend | Print

Friend name: Friend email: Your name: Your email:   Privacy Statement

Difference of Opinion. Mar 2nd 2006, 16:38:33 by terence Hello Lee, Sometimes, as you say, boxing goes that way, and that is how I saw things at the time. I did feel that the shot had shaken you very badly and bear in mind that I only got to see it live; I could only call your condition based on what I saw and I felt that your defence had gone. I wish you all the best in the future and hope you come back well from this loss as you certainly had good, vocal support. All the best in your future career. Terence.   what??? Feb 18th 2006, 13:06:45 by lee28 defence shattered an defence gone?? were u there?? yes great punch an flat footed an jigged abit to get the feet right but that report is way off an i can give u a few fights wer fighters have been way worse than me an the have sceamed blue murder an been backed!! il be back an i was never stopped in the ams an wnt be again in the pros unless u put me flat on my back!!! lee kellett   anthonyvkellett Feb 16th 2006, 13:10:09 by lee28 i know u have a job to do an we all hav opinions but saying i was gone an legs an no defence aint the full story!! cracking shot caught flat looted an after the first break staggerd again to get my feet ready for the following onslaught (which didnt happen as stopped way too early) an he dived in!!!! this is the fight game an if i hadnt of been in good nick that would of knocked me flat out!!(wud of average man in the st)iv seen boxer worse thanthat be allowed to go on.mind u thort was over matched for first fight in a year an first pro fight to!! he was a top ten am even amir wouldnt get that matched now an hes diffrent class!! urs in sport lee kellett