Rendall Munroe Gets Big Backing Ahead of Title Fight

By Terence Dooley

Rendall Munroe vies for Toshiaki Nishioka's WBC super-bantamweight title in Tokyo, Japan later tonight; the 'Boxing Bin Man' has the odds stacked against him going into his first world title shot but John H. Stracey, who ripped up the form book when defeating Jose Napoles for the WBC welterweight in Mexico back in 1975, believes that Rendall, 21-1 (9), can bring the title back to Leicester.

“Rendall has a lot more to deal with than just his opponent.  He's a long, long way from home, the conditions are different and he's a massive underdog.  The crowd will be on his back and there will be silence when he lands his best punches,” stressed Stracey when speaking to Matt Bozeat of the Leicester Mercury.

“That won't influence the judges because the WBC is the best governing body and always fair, but the crowd and conditions can be a factor if he allows them to be.  He has to forget about all that and just tell himself, 'This ring belongs to me and I'm going to win.'  I was on the floor and got cut when I boxed Napoles, but I always knew I was going to win…I was very confident and I'm sure Rendall will be as well.”

He added: “I'm sure he has prepared well and he has every chance of winning the title.  He's going to be fit and strong and he just has to be 100 percent focused on winning.  Rendall has got it all to do, but I'm sure he can do it and it will be a massive boost for British boxing if he comes back with the belt.”

Munroe is riding an eleven fight winning streak since losing to then-British featherweight champion Andy Morris back in 2006.  Indeed, Rendall was fighting above his natural bodyweight when campaigning at 126lbs earlier in his career and has reaped the rewards of dropping down to the 122lb division; the 30-year-old is strong at the weight and will hope to use his aggressive body punching to his advantage.

Toshiaki also benefited from a career-changing move up in weight; he previously made three challenges to Veeraphol Sahaprom's WBC bantamweight title – drawing the first two attempts before dropping a unanimous decision at the third time of asking.  The title holder's luck changed in 2009 when he won the WBC super-bantamweight title by stopping Genaro Garcia at 0:57 of the twelfth and final round. 

Consolidation victories followed, most notably his May 2009 stoppage of Jhonny Gonzalez.  The 34-year-old is experienced and Munroe's southpaw stance won't be an advantage, Toshiaki is a portsider also; both men will be expected to bring their A-game to the contest as southaw-southpaw matches tend to catch fire and allow both combatants to let it all hang out.

Sky Sports HD2 televise the fight live from 10pm Sunday morning.