Toshiaki Nishioka v Rendall Munroe...Below is an article written by a boxing journalist I know and respect. The books have priced this up badly wrong. Toshiaki Nishioka should be -900. He is the better fighter, fighting at home against an opponent who has never fought anywhere near this level. Even if Rendall fights the fight of his life this goes to points and he an't getting a decision in Japan. Rendall is completely outclassed here and I am doubling Nishioka up with Amir Khan (both are -300) to give me nearish evens. So if you put say 330 bucks on the double then it pays about 586. That is free money. Take it..I would also chance Nishioka KO as a side bet.
"Rendall Munroe is out to complete a genuine boxing fairytale this weekend when he heads to Japan to try and wrestle the WBC world super-bantamweight title from the grip of proud champion Toshiaki Nishioka.
The 21-1 (9) Leicester fighter, a refuse collector by day, has already collected English, British and European titles at 8st 10lbs but goes for the big one in the early hours of Sunday morning and should he pull it off he will surely be regarded as one of the most unlikely British world champions of recent times.
The 'Boxing Binman' looked to be going nowhere when he was soundly outboxed by Andy Morris for the British featherweight crown in 2006 but he dropped down a division and has never looked back.
Munroe is a chunky southpaw with bags of drive and energy who really came to prominence when he stunned then unbeaten Kiko Martinez, as a 6/1 underdog, to claim the European super-bantamweight title in 2008.
He has since made six defences of that title (including a second points win over Martinez) and gets the gig here off the back of his WBC world title eliminator win over Victor Terrazas back in April.
Munroe is big at the weight and has a great engine. However he gets a tough one in Nishioka, a battle hardened 34-year-old champion who will enjoy the bulk of support in Kokugikan.
Nishioka has been a pro since 1994 and was actually stopped in just his second fight. However he's lost just three since then (none by stoppage) and this despite mixing in elite class for the best part of a decade.
Nishioka fought three absolute wars with Thai legend Veeraphol Sahaprom, drawing once and losing two other battles on points. There is no disgrace there and ominously for Munroe he has not lost as a super-bantam (all of those battles were at bantamweight).
Furthermore his recent form has been excellent. The 36-4-3 (23) Asian star has won his last four by stoppage and among those wins was an ultra impressive three round annihilation of the world class Mexican Jhonny Gonzalez last year.
For this reason he's been chalked up as a warm favourite with the layers (top price 4/9) but there are plenty of fans in Britain who are making a case for Munroe upsetting the apple cart in this one.
'2Tone' is in outrageous shape by all accounts which he proved by ripping off his shirt to reveal a chiselled torso for the Japanese media at a recent press conference.
He's on a long unbeaten run and as a stranger in a strange land so to speak has precious little to lose. That makes him a dangerous proposition but he's fighting a genuinely gifted pugilist in Nishioka and should Munroe pull it off it would, in my eyes anyway, rival Lloyd Honeyghan's magnificent TKO win over Don Curry as one of the great British world title wins on foreign soil.
Munroe is a slow starter (I had him losing the first four sessions against Terrazas) but he moves through the gears well and genuinely seems to be one of those fighters who gets better the longer a fight goes.
However I am not sure whether this fight will see the latter stages for Nishioka is a deceptively heavy, and accurate hitter and Munroe's chin isn't that hard to find. He takes flush punches through that ear-muffed guard and while he's got away with it at British and even European level I fear he might come a cropper in this sort of company.
It's an intriguing battle this in as much that it's southpaw v southpaw and such contests are invariably settled by who has the more cultured right hand. Munroe has the advantage in terms of size and perhaps even work-rate but Nishioka is definitely the puncher in the fight and at 3/1, I reckon he looks a cracking bet to get this done inside schedule"
mackie
Hot Forum Topics
