By Oli Smith

Rendall Munroe entered into Friday’s contest at the Harvey Hadden Leisure Center in Nottingham on the cusp of fighting for a World title. After riding a massive wave of success that had seen him make four successful defences of the European Super Bantamweight title and add the Commonwealth title to his resume; Munroe was somewhat forced into this mandatory defense against Simone Maludrottu. Frank Maloney had planned to entice WBC belt holder Toshiaki Nishioka over to England, Monroe’s and Maloney’s position of course could only be bolstered by ensuring they secured a mandatory shot.

Enter Simone Maludrottu, having spent the bulk of his career at Bantamweight; he won the European title at the weight before going on to challenge, and ultimately drop a unanimous decision against Hozumi Hasegawa. Maludrottu would pose the sternest test Munroe could wish for, yet also be the perfect indicator as to how well the bin man from Leicester is likely to perform on the world stage.

The challenger entered the ring looking confident; he was comfortable at the weigh in and seemed to have grown into the 122lbs class well. Munroe also looked fresh; having been given six months off he looked keen to get the fight under way and shake off the cobwebs.

Maludrottu started well, firing quick jabs and having success with a quick flurry he worked well on the inside and began switch hitting early. Never one to come blazing out of the blocks, Munroe took his time to settle into the fight, perhaps he had not accounted for how competitive Maludrottu would be at Super Bantam, perhaps he had his mind on a mandatory shot at Hasegawa. Whatever the reason Munroe gifted the first three rounds to the older, more experienced challenger.

Maludrottu has never been an easy puzzle to solve, aside from a blemish on his record in his seventh fight, his only other lose came against the current WBC title holder - proof if anyone needed it that Munroe would need to be on top form. In between rounds Munroe’s corner would tell him to up his work rate. The fight had begun furiously and not let up. He had two options; the first would be to summon up a herculean effort and out hustle Maludrottu. The second option would be to fight smarter.

Munroe chose option number two; he adjusted and started winning rounds. Through the early rounds he stood toe to toe and fought Maludrottu’s fight. He bullied his way in with his head down and smothered his work. The challenger looked like he had seen it all before; in his nine year pro career, fighting against top calibre opposition, he likely had.

Then a breakthrough; the fourth round started and Munroe began to fire his jab off at range, upsetting the rhythm that Maludrottu had become accustomed to. When launching his attack on the inside Munroe gave himself an extra six inches of breathing space; enough to start digging in meaningful shots under Maludrottu’s elbow. It made the difference between winning and losing the rounds. The shift in momentum also allowed Munroe to impose himself that little bit more; he started to lean in up close, giving Maludrottu an extra angle to contend with.

Through the middle rounds Munroe began to claw back the lead as he kept on fighting with intelligent pressure; by the seventh round he seemed to have his opponent figured out. If there was something to pick in Maludrottu’s work, it was that he came forward in straight lines; he never offered Munroe anything different. Sure, he carried his speed up the scale and his power looked intimidating at times, but when champion adjusted, he should have too. Munroe often throws unorthodox combinations, it is to his credit that he not only finds angles for shots, but if they aren’t forth coming, he creates them too.

By the ninth stanza Munroe looked to have Maludrottu well under control, he started the round bouncing on his toes a good ten seconds before the bell rang, whilst things seemed to be turning for the worse in the opposite corner. Finally Munroe’s strength started to pay dividends as the challenger began to back off after tussles and gave ground against the ropes, though still dangerous Maludrottu kept the rounds honest whenever Munroe ventured in too close. As both fighters entered the championship rounds they knew everything was still on the line. Neither man had been able to impose himself on the other for long enough periods to allow himself the comfort of a round off. Nor did either man wish to blink first and drop the frenetic pace that had been set from the first bell.

Having gone the distance eight times previously, the challenger looked to have saved some gas in the tank for the final two rounds. Munroe has also heard the final bell enough times to know how best to pace himself over 36 minutes, and having never been dropped as an amateur or professional had confidence enough to attack without fear of losing points wastefully. Maludrottu seemed intent on testing Munroe’s resolve over the final six minutes of action; he significantly upped his own work rate and once again dragged the champion into a war of attrition.

Ever the showman and crowd pleaser; Munroe obliged and both men went toe to toe against the ropes. If fault could be found in the champion’s work it would be that when under pressure or when fighting up close he seems to lose composure. He doesn’t put enough thought behind his punches and as a result he loses leverage and power. It could explain why he only has eight knockouts against his name in 20 wins, but more pertinently, it allowed Maludrottu back in a fight that he should have been controlling. The challenger always threw very compact and precise punches, when Munroe got wild, Maludrottu’s jab, straight right, left hook combo would scythe though and put him back in contention. Monroe seemed to have momentarily punched himself out in the last round, as such he resorted to smothering Maludrottu’s work and walking onto shots he would have done best to avoid.

Ultimately though Munroe would come out victorious, scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 116-112 were read out in his favour. Tonight was always meant to represent his toughest challenge and in many ways it was. It exposed weaknesses in his game plan that any world class operator would find. These are weakness that must be addressed not if, but when he finds himself challenging for a world title.

Take nothing away from Rendall Munroe, he passed the test that was put in front of him and has consistently shown oustanding durability and work rate. He merely lacks the finesse that a true world class operator would demonstrate. Should he work on his composure in the gym, learn to sit down on his punches a little and pick more intelligent shots, he may find that the knockout power that seems to have eluded him up to this point will make itself apparent. The road to becoming a world champion is all about ironing out the creases and moulding a fighter into something better, success never comes overnight in boxing. But when it does come for Rendall Munroe, he will most certainly have earned it.