Punching back the years - the super-bantamweight division by David Statham Jun 27th 2008

In the first of a new series, David Statham looks at the past attempts of British fighters who beat the obstacles, defied the odds and challenged for world glory. European champion Rendall Munroe has become the latest British hope in the super-bantamweight division. The twenty-eight year old took the belt from Kiko Martinez earlier this year and the Leicestershire man, who has made one successful defence, is now leading the way down the road towards world title contention. Former three-weight world champion and current ITV commentator Duke McKenzie, who out-pointed America's Jesse Benavides in London 1992, was the last British fighter to lift one of the four major belts in the division. Duke claimed the WBO super-bantamweight title at Lewisham Theatre on October 15th. Since his victory, nearly sixteen years ago, several British fighters have contested for the right to be named world champion in the 122lbs division. WBC and WBO The phenomenal Puerto Rican, Wilfredo Gomez, kept the WBC title for just under six years, stopping or knocking-out every one of his seventeen opponents. Most notably, Mexican pair Carlos Zarate and Lupe Pintor, who had both been successful WBC bantamweight champions. And after becoming a major star in the division, making it popular amongst boxing followers, Gomez headed moved towards the featherweights in 1982. Between his departure and the first British challenge (1997) the belt changed hands between twelve different champions. The longest of those was Mexico's Daniel Zaragoza who was champion on three different occasions. And it was Zaragoza who defended his belt against Ireland's ‘Pocket Rocket' Wayne McCullough in Boston, Massachusetts on January 11th 1997. Unfortunately, the Belfast-born fighter couldn't repeat his WBC bantamweight heroics and he lost out on a split decision over twelve rounds. Mexico may have kept a champion in Zaragoza, but their long-reigning WBO champion had been defeated. The belt, which came into existence in 1989, was draped over the shoulder of New York's Junior Jones, who had won the title from the Marco Antonio Barrera. It wasn't long until ‘The Baby Faced Assassin' -who went into retirement after his failed attempt to win back the belt against Junior- picked up his gloves again and had another crack at becoming world champion. And it was he and Liverpool's British super-bantamweight champ, Richie Wenton, who battled in out for the vacant title in Atlantic City on October 31st 1998. The belt, which Junior had lost and his successor had vacated, was wrapped around the Mexican when Wenton was stopped in the third round of the fight. Six months after the defeat, Cheshire's ‘Livewire' Paul Lloyd had an opportunity to dethrone the impeccable champion as the South American made the long trip from Mexico City to London. But former IBF bantamweight challenger Lloyd didn't get to hear the final bell. He was knocked down and badly cut, eventually being stopped inside the first round. In October 1999, Wayne McCullough laced up his gloves and travelled to Detroit. Time for another crack at the overwhelming Mexican dominance. This time his opponent was Erik Morales, the man who had defeated ‘The Pocket Rocket's' old nemesis, Zaragoza. ‘El Terrible', from Mexico's notorious north zone of the border city of Tijuana, was making the eighth defence of his WBC belt. He'd previously knocked-out Northern Ireland's IBO world champion, John Lowey in seven rounds. Lowey, who was deducted three points in the bout for supposed illegal use of the head, gave Morales problems in the early rounds, but the Mexican grew as the fight went on and the Irishman's corner pulled their man out. Morales, regarded as a man of his people, wasn't so kind when it came to the Irish hopes. The champion unanimously out-pointed McCullough over twelve rounds. Barrera's and Morales' dominance in the WBO and WBC championships came to a head in February 2000, when the arch-rivals put down their belts and produced an outstanding, breathtaking display of boxing at Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas. Both fighters traded jabs, drilled in uppercuts, blocked, parried and slid in front of each other, testing each other's heart, condition and stamina. After twelve rounds, many ringside observers thought Barrera, who'd knocked down his taller opponent in the twelfth round, had done enough to win but when the scorecards were read out, it was Erik Morales and his promoter Bob Arum who were celebrating a split-decision victory. The contest was duly awarded ‘Fight of the Year' by The Ring magazine and the display by the Mexican warriors, is still considered one of the great boxing contests of all time. Even though Morales got the decision, the WBO refused to accept it and reinstated Barrera as champion. Morales subsequently relinquished his WBC belt and moved up to featherweight. So, the title, vacated by the man who had held it for three years was up for grabs. In Manchester on September 9th 2000, European champion Michael Brodie was given the chance to celebrate the millennium by winning a new title. The Englishman's opponent was America's undefeated Willie Jorrin. But despite climbing off the canvas in the tenth round and forcing the issue, the man from Manchester was on the wrong side of a majority points decision. Three years later, after twice attempting and failing to win the WBO featherweight belt, against ‘Prince' Naseem Hamed and Scott Harrison respectively, Wayne McCullough stepped into the ring for his third WBC super-bantamweight title fight. This time he was up against Mexico's latest champ, Oscar Larios. The Irishman was widely out-pointed by the younger champion. In a fourth attempt for the belt six months later, against the same opponent, McCullough suffered the first knock-out defeat of his career, being stopped in the tenth round in Las Vegas. WBA There hasn't been a British boxer who has contested the World Boxing Association's belt, which began at the end of 1977. The decoration has been wrapped around three Mexican champions, Juan Jose Estrada, Raul Perez and most recently (1998) Nestor Garza. Puerto Rica's three-weight world champion, Wilfredo Vasquez, held the title for three years making nine succesful defences. But the belt is currently in the hands of thirty-one year old Panamanian, Celestine Caballero, who has made four successful defences since winning the belt in October 2006. IBF Three South African fighters, Welcome Ncita, Vuyani Bungu and Lehlohonolo Ledwaba, dominated the IBF super-bantamweight division for eleven years (1990-2001) until Filipino puncher, Manny Pacquiao ended Ledwaba's reign, stopping the champ in the sixth of a scheduled twelve. ‘Pacman', a potential future opponent of Ricky Hatton or possibly Amir Khan, made three defences then relinquished his belt to start his campaign up at featherweight. Mexico's Israel Vazquez took over and, after defending the title twice, won a unification bout against the WBC champ Oscar Larios (December 2005). After the contest, ‘Magnifico' vacated the IBF, concentrating instead on his newest accolade. This meant in November 2006, Hartlepool's prodigal son, Michael Hunter had the opportunity to become the first British super-bantamweight ‘world' title holder since 1992. But unfortunately, like so many of the Brits before him, the previously undefeated twenty-eight year was defeated. ‘The Canadian Kid' Steve Molitor knocked Hunter down in the fourth and out in the fifth as he made his first trip to County Durham a memorable one. The silky southpaw, now undefeated in twenty-seven fights, is still champion, having made four defences of the belt he won over eighteen months ago. In 1983, Bobby Berna became the first southpaw ‘world' champion in the super-bantamweight division. Can Britain's Rendall Munroe become the next?

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