Jamie McDonnell v Rodrigo Bracco
With six wins on the trot and a continental championship tucked under his arm, it’s fair to say life is pretty rosy for Jamie McDonnell right now.
Tonight the European bantamweight champion makes the first defence of his belt as Rodrigo Bracco makes his way to “Macca’s” hometown of Doncaster.
Since his 2008 defeat to Lee Haskins, McDonnell hasn’t looked back, scoring some excellent victories over the likes of Ian Napa and Jerome Arnould to boost his record up to 14(6)-2-1. He was underdog going in to both the Napa and Arnould bouts, so his rise to glory has been something of a surprise to many and a beacon of hope to fans of English sport.
McDonnell has cut himself out a niche as quite the dark horse in a competitive British weight division. Prior to his defeat against Haskins he looked quite average and his improvement has been remarkable. He’s an intelligent fighter that picks his shots, stays on the outside and can deliver some decent power, but tends to build a win. In the past you would have accused him of not covering up enough when under pressure, but now his defence is tight allowing him to be more effective on the counter.
His Italian rival Bracco is brawler and a swarmer who works from the centre of the ring and likes to get inside and land heavy combinations. The Italian is fighting with a record of 11(5)-2-0 and won the Italian bantamweight title with a 10th-round TKO over Pio Antonio Nettuno in his last outing, an impressive show of dominance.
This match up brings the classic clash of styles between a punch-picker and a punch-pummeller. They are both about as experienced as each other but McDonnell has six years on his opponent and is fighting out of his home town.
This should be a good match-up with a lot of energy and could really go either way.
It’s going to be a tough task to beat Bracco, but if anyone can, Macca can.
Prediction: McDonnell unanimous decision
This is shaping up to be a great fight and will be tight from the first bell. The test will be to see how McDonnell copes with the bullish Bracco’s constant.
He won’t mind the Italian taking up residence in the centre of the ring, being happy to stay outside and pick him off. However Bracco’s not here to make up the numbers and will go steaming in from the start. You just feel if McDonnell can absorb his shots he has the class to out-box him over the duration of the 12 rounds and come away a comprehensive winner on the cards.
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