Fight:1995791
2015-10-12: Steve Suppan and Melvin Wassing fight ends in split decision draw after 6 rounds
- Location: Theater Carré, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Referee: Gerard Stuifzand 57-57
- Judge: Mufadel Elghazaoui 58-57
- Judge: Robert Verwijs 57-58
This bout was part of the “Ben Bril Memorial”, the largest pro boxing event in The Netherlands. Once a year the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam is filled with boxing fans, knowing there will be good matches and a special atmosphere.
This fight was a clash of styles, the young boxer Steve Suppan (21) against the slightly older Melvin Wassing (24), who is originally a kick-boxer. With knock-out wins in his previous two pro fights, Suppan and his supporters expected again a stunning performance. Being sung into the ring by Dré Hazes, a well known Dutch singer, Suppan made an entrance showing lots of confidence. Credits must go to Wassing for he didn’t let all the attention for his opponent bring him out of his own concentration. Wassing wasn’t planning on playing by the script Suppan and his team had drawn up before. With 7 pro fights at his name, including knock-out wins and knock-out losses, he had the potential to stop or being stopped.
After the bell to start the first round, they both circled cautious around each other. The first punch was for Suppan, a sliding jab to the body. Suppan kept a keen eye on his opponent, looking for connecting shots. His left arm extended to keep Wassing at distance. Wassing wasn’t impressed and looked himself equally sharp. Suppan was fast in and out and could hit Wassing but Wassing was able to place some hits himself when he predicted Suppans movement correctly. Both fighters missed some hard hooks. Suppan was the one initiating the action but it was a close round.
In the second round Suppan started to put more pressure on Wassing. He looked so confident that he opened up his arms waving a bit at Wassing. He, as from the start, was not impressed and kept looking himself for openings. Clinches became more frequent. Suppan placed a good left hook to Wassings head but couldn’t put his weight behind it. They both exchanged combinations but neither could hurt the other. Then more or less suddenly with the last shot of a combination and already stepping away, Wassing caught Suppan with a heard right hook to the head. Suppan was visibly stunned and Wassing flew at him. Suppan literally held on. Most of Wassings punches were too wild and missed but this phase was proof of his stopping power. Suppan survived and in the end of the round he caught Wassing with some good punches but with less effect.
In the third round, both fighters showed more aggression. Suppan has a good overhead right that he was able to land on Wassings head followed by a long left hook. Wassing shook it off, taunting Suppan that he couldn’t hurt him. Suppan took the bait and let his hands down to show in return he wasn’t afraid either. It was a sign from him that Wassing was able to get under his skin. During this round Suppan landed more shots but Wassing was a constant threat. The danger of another stunning punch was constant present. When Suppan again caught Wassing with a good hook, Wassing shook his head as if saying “no, no, didn’t hurt”. It led to the strange situation that though Suppan landed more shots, he was the one showing some agitation. It was obvious he wanted to get even with Wassing by delivering as fast as possible a comparable blow as he had received the previous round. He started to rush things by trying too predictable one-two’s such as jab – overhead right from too far. Wassing could easily dodge these but couldn’t land punches himself.
The fourth round was comparable to the previous one but with a bit less aggression from the fighters. Wassing kept trying to land a hard right punch with which he was successful before. Because Suppan kept his left hand low, it was an alluring target. He couldn’t land one however. Suppan threw in some combinations to the body which was good for an alternation of his offense but there was no real impact. Wassing kept a close guard. Both fighters were cautious not to over commit themselves. This again was a close round with Suppan being a bit more active.
In the fifth round, Suppan took the initiative with some probing jabs, followed by his right. But Wassing kept observing correctly and was able to neutralize most of Suppans shots. Wassing was able to corner Suppan but could not exploit this advantage. Suppan showed in return that he was not impressed by Wassing by staying in the corner as if saying “would you like to try some more?”. Suppan hit Wassing with a good left hook to the body but again, without the impact as intended. When he had Wassing in the corner and under pressure, Wassing clinched himself out of it and wrestled Suppan into the corner. Suppan was more active in the rest of the round again.
The sixth round started with Wassing in the offensive role. He took the fight to Suppan and put him under pressure but without any real danger. Suppan was now in the counter punch role but he also could not really hurt Wassing. There were some good exchanges of punches for the both of them and it was clear that both fighters tried their best to secure victory. Both were equally tired but Suppan perhaps showed this a bit more. When the bell signaled the end of the round, they gave each other the respect they both deserved. Suppan raised his hand, feeling he had done enough to win the fight.
The final jury result was a split decision draw. Both fighters could live with it though also they both were disappointed. Wassing knew his chance to win the fight had passed after failing to knock Suppan down in the second round. Suppan knew he had landed more shots, had shown more initiative and besides the moment in the second round, never had been in real danger and maybe should have been given more rounds.