Haskins eyes bantamweight title

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxi...m#startcontent

From BBC Sport International Edition


Lee Haskins will try to become a two-weight Commonwealth champion when he faces South African Tshifhiwa Munyai in Bethnal Green on Friday.
Haskins, 22, has reeled off 15 straight victories in the flyweight division and believes the time is right to make the move up to bantamweight.

"I don't see Munyai's reputation as a problem," said Haskins.

"In fact I see him as a stepping stone to become world champion. I intend to grab this opportunity with both hands."

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Maybe you guys on the other side of the pond can tell
me about this guy, like is he any good?

I'd like to know about it just for the prediction contest

I had Hoskins earlier but most British people seem to be picking Munyai

I like this guys previews cause he knows a lot about European/Asian fighters that I don't know much about but surprisingly it doesn't seem like he's seen either guy much, or any, so take it for what its worth

www.fightwriter.com

It will be the long and the short of it at York Hall in London when the towering South African Tshifhiwa Munyai defends his Commonwealth bantam title against Lee Haskins, a much shorter but more experienced and possibly harder punching fighter who moves up from the flyweight division.

Both boxers are unbeaten, but Munyai was considered what used to be called an “unknown quantity” until he shocked the British boxing fraternity by stopping the previously unbeaten Martin Power in nine rounds to win the Commonwealth title last June.

Promoter Frank Maloney said over the phone from London this week: “I had trouble getting that fight approved [by the British Boxing Board of Control] because Munyai had only had 10 fights, but he proved to be an unpolished diamond from South Africa.”

Haskins, meanwhile, is one of British boxing’s most colourful characters, a southpaw with attitude who is said to fight a lot like Naseem Hamed — speed, power, unorthodox moves, switch-hitting, punches thrown from unexpected angles and great agility.

Munyai (11 wins and a draw in 12 bouts, six opponents stopped) is a gangling type but it seems he can really fight. He was behind on two judges’ scorecards against Power but was landing right hands in the ninth when the fight was stopped.

Haskins, who has won 15 in a row (nine stoppages), will be relying on speed and tricky cleverness, hitting without getting hit.

A 22-year-old from Bristol in the west of England, Haskins has stopped three of his last four opponents. In February he won the Commonwealth flyweight title title by destroying a Tanzanian Commonwealth Games silver medallist in two rounds, and he retained the title in his last fight by soundly outpointing the veteran South African Zolile Mbityi.

Haskins’s manager and trainer, Chris Sanigar, had planned on the fighter boxing at flyweight for another 12 months before moving up in weight but two fights fell through, then the Munyai fight was offered to them.

It seems risky to jump two weight classes, but, speaking over the phone from Bristol this week, Sanigar said: “In Britain they don’t recognise super flyweight, but if you’re good enough you can move up — boxers have been doing it throughout history.

“I think Lee’s exceptionally quick and he punches very hard from all sorts of angles. He’s got to get in there, not get caught with silly shots and get to work. We’re hoping the guy won’t be able to tee off like he did against Martin Power — let’s see how he does against a moving target.

“We want to be nicking the first few rounds and then see how it goes, bringing the shots up from all different angles. Lee likes fighting taller guys because he can bring big shots over the top. If you want to go on, you’ve got to win these fights. It’s a calculated gamble but this guy’s never been in with anyone like Lee.”

By the same token, Haskins has never faced anyone like Munyai, who stands nearly 6 foot.

Reports of Haskins’s fights suggest that he is a hurtful body puncher. If he can slip inside and bang Munyai downstairs he can slow him down and perhaps come on in the later rounds. Munyai looked good against Martin Power, true, but he was meeting an opponent who was apparently right in front of him.

With two unbeaten fighters, both with a confident way about them, anything can happen. Sanigar said that Haskins has worked more on the fitness side of his training after seeming to tire in his last fight and will be ready to go 12 rounds, which is just as well because Munyai does not look the type of fighter who will be stopped early.

It could be that Haskins’s style will have the South African bothered and bewildered, but I find myself wondering if Munyai might be physically too much for him.

Hustons preview pretty much sums it up but he obviously didn't see Haskins last time out.

He looked terrible. He went down on a knee at one point from a body shot that wasn't counted and his corner had to really rouse him up between rounds to keep him in the fight, it seemed. He's copied Hameds style but doesn't look like he's got the abilty, speed or power to pull it off.

Munyai was impressive last time, looked better than this level, hope i'm wrong but i reckon Haskins will do well to go the distance.