Hadn't realised this was taking place on the Power v Napa undercard next week, looks a fantastic fight and hopefully the winner can get a shot a Daws if either of them are eligible for the British title.
How do people see this going? I feel Olusegun will stop Bami at the midway point but don't right it off happening the otherway round
Bami v Olusegun
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TerribleTerry
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 5272
- Joined: 29 Aug 2003, 12:30
Re: Bami v Olusegun
Bami, for all his power seems fragile to me.Lenny Albert wrote:Hadn't realised this was taking place on the Power v Napa undercard next week, looks a fantastic fight and hopefully the winner can get a shot a Daws if either of them are eligible for the British title.
How do people see this going? I feel Olusegun will stop Bami at the midway point but don't right it off happening the otherway round
I pick Olusegun to send him back to his Brixton barber's shop a loser.
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Hardhitters11
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 942
- Joined: 02 Sep 2003, 13:20
BRITISH bantamweight champion Martin Power goes for a Lonsdale Belt outright against old rival and London rival Ian Napa at York Hall next week (Thursday June 29).
These two featured in a cracker for the same title at the same hall last November, which ended in a split decision for Power after 12 thrilling rounds. Power, the champion, had edged out Huddersfield's Dale Robinson in another thriller for the vacant British title in May 2005 and made his first defence against the Hackney-based Napa. He then saw off Darlington's Isaac Ward in eight rounds in his second defence last month. His nickname is "Too Much". He clearly can't get enough of his British title. And he clearly wants a Lonsdale Belt.
The gypsy from Camden Town looked sharp stopping the aggressive, previously unbeaten Ward just 30 days ago (come next Thursday): wearing him down with a constant head and body attack and dropping him in the eighth with a big right, immediately after which referee and ex-pro Ian John-Lewis waved it off (Ward beat the count).
Power is a tough, fiery battler with height and reach at the weight (especially over 5ft 1in Napa) and a respectable if not pulverizing dig. He needed it all to get past an inspired Napa last year, in a fight that could have gone either way. All three judges scored 116-113 - two of them to Power. Napa boxed brilliantly at times. For a supposed non-puncher, he even rocked the champion in the ninth. But Power showed all his fighting spirit to fire right back.
Unbeaten Power is so hard to quell because he keeps on firing. He struggled to catch the slippery Napa cleanly, yet never lost heart or momentum. He refuses to lose. Incidentally, he used the right uppercut a lot against Ward, a shot that could serve him well next week. He certainly won't be lacking in sharpness. The challenger in contrast hasn't fought at all this year. But Napa is the kind of boxer who will always do well against aggressive fighters. Power will have to maintain a constant head and body attack (again) to cancel out the slick counters of the challenger, the quicker hands of the challenger. In the end, over 12 rounds, it boils down to weight of punch. Napa, unable to really subdue the champion, looks set for another disappointment.
In the chief support, Brixton barber Ted Bami looks to trim Nigerian southpaw Ajose Olusegun for the vacant Commonwealth light-welterweight title (made vacant by Bradford's Junior Witter). It's a coming together of dangermen. Olusegun, trained by former British heavyweight champion "Big Bad" James Oyebola, is a former Olympian who has won all 16 of his fights (seven early) since turning pro in 2001 out of London's Kentish Town, including a four-round stoppage of Bradley Pryce in Newport in September 2004 - a man who now holds the Commonwealth title at light-middleweight.
It shows you the calibre of 26-year-old Olusegun, and the calibre of those willing to meet him. He's much-feared, much-avoided. He snapped 14 months on the sidelines last month at York Hall with a two-round stoppage of gutsy Belarussian Alexander Abramenko. He must have dreamt of an opportunity such as this.
But Bami has paid his own dues in a career dating back to 1998. The stocky Londoner, born in Zaire, also holds a stoppage of the unfortunate Pryce - with one second remaining of a six-rounder at Cardiff Castle in August 2002. Bami took fights on the road in those days, usually after a day on his feet at work. He hold a fine two-round stoppage of Midlander Gary Reid, currently going great guns at the weight, in Dudley in 1999, and a nine-round stoppage of Hungary's Laszlo Herczeg for the WBF light-welterweight title closer to home at York Hall in 2003. He lost the title quickly to Johannesburg's talented Samuel Malinga in three rounds three months later but has won all seven of his fights since, one of them a second-round knockout of Argentina's Ricardo "Kojak" Silva at Brentwood last year - a southpaw like Olusegun - taking part in his 100th fight.
So this is a tough one to call. The Nigerian has a couple of inches in height on Bami, throws plenty of shots and done absolutely nothing wrong to date. But Bami has a more rounded feel about him. Yes, his chin has let him down a couple of times, but he's learned from the two-round setback at the hands Malinga, when he fought cockily and walked on to a big right. He looks close to his peak at 28.
If Olusegen really is as good as they say he is, he can get past Ted. If not, Bami is the man to emerge from a thriller.
These two featured in a cracker for the same title at the same hall last November, which ended in a split decision for Power after 12 thrilling rounds. Power, the champion, had edged out Huddersfield's Dale Robinson in another thriller for the vacant British title in May 2005 and made his first defence against the Hackney-based Napa. He then saw off Darlington's Isaac Ward in eight rounds in his second defence last month. His nickname is "Too Much". He clearly can't get enough of his British title. And he clearly wants a Lonsdale Belt.
The gypsy from Camden Town looked sharp stopping the aggressive, previously unbeaten Ward just 30 days ago (come next Thursday): wearing him down with a constant head and body attack and dropping him in the eighth with a big right, immediately after which referee and ex-pro Ian John-Lewis waved it off (Ward beat the count).
Power is a tough, fiery battler with height and reach at the weight (especially over 5ft 1in Napa) and a respectable if not pulverizing dig. He needed it all to get past an inspired Napa last year, in a fight that could have gone either way. All three judges scored 116-113 - two of them to Power. Napa boxed brilliantly at times. For a supposed non-puncher, he even rocked the champion in the ninth. But Power showed all his fighting spirit to fire right back.
Unbeaten Power is so hard to quell because he keeps on firing. He struggled to catch the slippery Napa cleanly, yet never lost heart or momentum. He refuses to lose. Incidentally, he used the right uppercut a lot against Ward, a shot that could serve him well next week. He certainly won't be lacking in sharpness. The challenger in contrast hasn't fought at all this year. But Napa is the kind of boxer who will always do well against aggressive fighters. Power will have to maintain a constant head and body attack (again) to cancel out the slick counters of the challenger, the quicker hands of the challenger. In the end, over 12 rounds, it boils down to weight of punch. Napa, unable to really subdue the champion, looks set for another disappointment.
In the chief support, Brixton barber Ted Bami looks to trim Nigerian southpaw Ajose Olusegun for the vacant Commonwealth light-welterweight title (made vacant by Bradford's Junior Witter). It's a coming together of dangermen. Olusegun, trained by former British heavyweight champion "Big Bad" James Oyebola, is a former Olympian who has won all 16 of his fights (seven early) since turning pro in 2001 out of London's Kentish Town, including a four-round stoppage of Bradley Pryce in Newport in September 2004 - a man who now holds the Commonwealth title at light-middleweight.
It shows you the calibre of 26-year-old Olusegun, and the calibre of those willing to meet him. He's much-feared, much-avoided. He snapped 14 months on the sidelines last month at York Hall with a two-round stoppage of gutsy Belarussian Alexander Abramenko. He must have dreamt of an opportunity such as this.
But Bami has paid his own dues in a career dating back to 1998. The stocky Londoner, born in Zaire, also holds a stoppage of the unfortunate Pryce - with one second remaining of a six-rounder at Cardiff Castle in August 2002. Bami took fights on the road in those days, usually after a day on his feet at work. He hold a fine two-round stoppage of Midlander Gary Reid, currently going great guns at the weight, in Dudley in 1999, and a nine-round stoppage of Hungary's Laszlo Herczeg for the WBF light-welterweight title closer to home at York Hall in 2003. He lost the title quickly to Johannesburg's talented Samuel Malinga in three rounds three months later but has won all seven of his fights since, one of them a second-round knockout of Argentina's Ricardo "Kojak" Silva at Brentwood last year - a southpaw like Olusegun - taking part in his 100th fight.
So this is a tough one to call. The Nigerian has a couple of inches in height on Bami, throws plenty of shots and done absolutely nothing wrong to date. But Bami has a more rounded feel about him. Yes, his chin has let him down a couple of times, but he's learned from the two-round setback at the hands Malinga, when he fought cockily and walked on to a big right. He looks close to his peak at 28.
If Olusegen really is as good as they say he is, he can get past Ted. If not, Bami is the man to emerge from a thriller.