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Click the above Image for more Photos of Rendall Munroe
Rendall Munroe put up a brave effort against Toshiaki Nishioka in a bid to win the World Super-Bantamweight Title, but sadly the Fairytale end we (the British) wanted to see – didn’t happen and ‘2Tone’ Munroe conceded a Unanimous Points win to the Champion.
Munroe entered the ring in his usual ‘fluorescent’ style of clothing and looked focused as the sounds of Bob Marley filled the venue. A smattering of hi-viz vests cheered their support to the ‘Boxing Binman’ and his team.
But this was Nishioka’s home-ground and didn’t we know it!
As they begin the first round – the chants of ‘Rendall Munroe, Rendall Munroe’ could be clearly heard from the British supporters, but for every punch that Nishioka threw – the Japanese crowd cheered. The Champion got straight to work with long-reaching shots, putting distance between them – fighting his style of fight, but Munroe takes position centre of ring and looks confident.
The Leicester boxer starts the second round busy. Both men use lefts, rights and body-shots. Inside the last twenty seconds Munroe gets in with two or three shots to the face of his opponent and the British fans cheer. It’s been a good round for Munroe.
Round three and Nishioka drops his gloves low – flicking out the right, but Munroe gains in confidence during the fourth frame and smiles as he starts to ‘settle in’.
Nishioka goes for some big shots in the fifth round and Munroe is ‘wobbled’ in the second minute from a left to the top of the head. Seeing the Challenger under pressure – the Japanese fans roar but Munroe just smiles as if to say ‘that was nothing’.
In the sixth, Munroe takes a solid body-shot right through the middle and he clearly ‘felt’ it. He digs his elbows in tight to the body. Nishioka’s right eye (which had looked slightly marked from the first round) starts to bleed from a cut above the eyelid at the end of the round.
But by the eighth, the cut looks fine and now Munroe has a cut on the right cheek. In the intermission, officials announce the scores so far (in Japanese) and it’s obvious from the cheers that Nishioka is winning on points.
At the end of the tenth, Nishioka lands another sickening left to the body. He starts to look ‘flashy’ and puts Munroe under pressure in the last twenty seconds. A barrage of shots sees Munroe under pressure mid-way through the eleventh, but he ‘sucks it up’ and carries on.
The twelfth (for me) was a worrying round. Nishioka was clearly ahead – and he unleashes on Munroe who stumbles back from a second flurry of punches and the Champion has him backed up on the ropes. I scream at the TV! With less than half a minute to go – I didn’t want to see Munroe stopped in the final round. I’m relieved to hear the bell (!)
Nishioka wins by Unanimous Decision 119-109 on all three Judges score-cards, but no-one can deny the heart of Rendall Munroe who gave it his best.
