Ryan Rhodes v Luca Messi
Anyone who is a fan of British sports will be weary of coming across Messi after what he did to Arsenal. Football fans can breathe easy though, it is Italian Luca Messi who has come over to try and prize away Ryan Rhodes European light-middleweight title tonight in Sheffield, not the little Barcelona magician returning to further dent the confidence of English teams.
While namesake Lionel missed out in Europe this year “The Bergamo Bomber” will be desperate to rule the continent. However the Italian has the small task of getting past the dynamic Rhodes who will be attempting to complete the Italian job and earn another world-title shot.
Rhodes returns to action after an eight-month layoff having revived his career with a show-stopping win over Jamie Moore in October of last year, which promoter Ricky Hatton described as “world class”. It revitalised “Spice Boy’s” career who hit the ground running with a British title in 1996, before he dropped off the radar with a defeat to Canadian Ortis Grant in a WBO title clash as well as losses to Jason Matthews and Lee Blundell, which brought Rhodes’ chin into question.
By his own admission Rhodes wasn’t performing as well as he could have done and some of those losses could godown as inexperience, but since his 2006 defeat to Gary Lockett he has been in excellent form with eight straight wins. He lost by a tight decision to Lockett and to be honest that WBU clash did appear to be Rhodes last chance to put himself in contention for a big fight.
However when he beat Moore in their EBU clash he went right to the front of the queue for another crack at a world title and he will be hoping its third time lucky.
That match-up was a domestic classic. Moore took the first few rounds but Rhodes showed the workmanlike attitude that he has used to bounce back from his failings to come from behind and clinch the belt with a seventh-round KO, in a fight that was fought at electric pace.
As for Messi he is something of an unknown quantity. The 35-year-old’s record shows that he has fought a lot of poor opposition and all his previous attempts to step up in calibre have ended in defeat. His biggest bout to date was his attempt at the WBA title in 2005 against Alejandro Garcia which saw him lose a wide decision despite giving everything he had.
From what has been seen of him he looks like a scrapper who gets in tight and throws short combinations, but he appears to have only beaten 11 fighters who can boast records that stack up better in the winning column than the losing one. Messi likes to close down the ring and trap opposition but that’s unlikely to bother Rhodes who often fights on the outskirts before coming to the centre to throw big combinations. Also the Bomber doesn’t seem to possess a great deal of power within his shots to make any cornering of Rhodes count.
We know what to expect from Spice Boy, his chin still raises doubts but its unlikely Messi will test it, his last KO against decent opposition came against Michele Piccirillo in 2006. Messi will more than likely struggle with Rhodes southpaw stance and the Yorkshire man is still capable of dispatching KO’s with both fists as his 29 knockouts demonstrates and he could catch the Italian as he tries to come into the inside.
The Italian veteran is unlikely to cause Rhodes too many problems and the Englishman will be determined not to lose what will surely be his last shot at a world title. If he comes through this it will be interesting to see who he will get his chance against in what is quite a hotly contested division.
Sergio Martinez’s belt looks like it might be going spare soon as the Mexican looks set to stay a middleweight, although Paul Williams must have his eye on it if decides to not to move as well. The obvious character is top Mexican prospect Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr, son of the legendary swarmer. Also there’s Antonio Maragrito a mooted opponent, but he is embroiled in the hand wrap scandal while Kermit Cintron is still nursing his pride since he fell out the ring.
The current belt holders might prove a class too much for Rhodes, Cory Spinks has disappeared and unbeaten Ukrainian Sergi Dzinziruk has proven himself to be a very awkward customer and he will want to steer well clear of the winner of the Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto bout.
While Rhodes is a solid domestic competitor it is questionable whether he has the skill to step up, especially to take on some of the names being levelled his way and will need to put on another boxing bonanza tonight if he wants the international scene to take notice.
Interestingly Messi’s brother is a priest who says he will be praying for him tonight. Quite frankly I think that’s the Italians best chance of coming out of Sheffield as European champion.
Prediction: Rhodes fourth-sixth round KO
The Italian veteran is extremely unlikely to prove too much of a problem to Rhodes who, at 33, knows this is his last chance. You get the feeling Messi might have used up his best in the 2005 WBA clash with Garcia and Rhodes should power through him to a comfortable victory.
Tags: