 |
|
|
In a contest low on quality but high on drama, Robin Reid exposed Brian Magee’s fragile chin to snatch the Irishman’s IBO super-middleweight crown in a bad-tempered brawl at Belfast’s historic King’s Hall on Saturday night.
A courageous Magee recovered from a first-round point deduction for a "low-blow", and four separate knockdowns in rounds 4, 5 and 8 (twice), to box his way back into proceedings as a lacklustre Reid took his foot off the gas down the stretch. Incredibly this fight seemed close on the scorecards with computer punch stats revealing that Magee had landed 72 punches to just 50 from Reid, a miserable success rate of 20%. However, the knockdowns proved critical as all three judges ruled for Reid by verdicts of 115-111, 113-112 and 114-111. Doghouse Boxing made Reid a two-point winner but in truth this was a difficult fight to score following several untidy rounds as the pair’s styles clashed horribly (southpaw Magee, orthodox Reid).
The tone for this scrappy affair was set in the opening round when American referee Tommy Kimmons deducted a point from Magee after Reid vigorously protested he had received a low blow. Replays contradicted the self-dubbed "Reaperman" though showing that Magee had scored with a perfectly legitimate punch to the body. Uncharacteristically, Reid was complaining to referee Kimmons at every given opportunity yet both fighters seemed guilty of leading with their head.
Neither man was willing to commit to making the first move in this cagey battle but Magee did enjoy fleeting successes with his left hand as Reid struggled for his timing and accuracy. The challenger was becoming frustrated and winced uncomfortably following two head clashes in the third. Magee was growing in confidence and his greater speed made Reid look ponderous in comparison. Reid turned to the pro-Magee crowd and raised his arms at the bell but had been consistently picked off by the local hero’s straight lefts.
Tempers were becoming frayed and reached boiling point in an incident packed fourth. Another clash of heads provoked an angry reaction from Reid as he dabbed his forehead as a trickle of blood appeared. Tommy Kimmons somewhat optimistically instructed them to tidy it up as the man in the middle continued to work overtime. Reid was angered by what he perceived to be intentional misuse of the head by Magee. Ironically, as a direct result of this, came the first knockdown of the night. An incensed Reid struggled free from a clinch and lashed home a cuffing left hook to the side of the head which forced Magee to briefly touch down. The champion was up quickly and the bell sounded to end the round before Reid could launch a follow-up attack.
Round 5 produced more controversy. Again the boxers bumped heads, this time seriously, leaving Reid with a nasty horizontal gash on his forehead above his right eye. Blood flowed freely down the Runcorn man’s chiselled face and there seemed a real possibility that we were about to go to the scorecards following this accidental clash. Sensing he was in serious danger of being halted, Reid upped the tempo and a left hook to the temple deposited Magee to the canvas for the second time in as many rounds. Up quickly once more and seemingly unhurt, Magee managed to see out the round but his confidence had been severely dented. Doubts about the Irishman’s punch resistance beforehand were well founded.
With the ability to hurt his opponent every time he landed cleanly, Reid curiously failed to press home his advantage in a lacklustre sixth. Encouragingly, blood was flowing less freely from the wound to his forehead though. The knockdowns had forced Magee into a defensive shell and the Belfast crowd became increasingly anxious by what they were witnessing in round 7.
Just when Magee seemed to be slowly boxing his way back into things a disastrous eighth round ultimately cost him his IBO title. In what was the punch of the fight, a booming right hand dropped Magee heavily after a delayed reaction. This time the champion was in serious trouble but benefited from referee Kimmons’ long delay before allowing an eager Reid to resume his assault. A rampant Reid sensed victory and a series of clubbing hooks were enough to send Magee to the mat which Kimmons was satisfied to rule a knockdown. To his credit the Belfast warrior dragged himself up again but, almost certainly, the judges would have scored this a 10-7 round. But for this pivotal moment Magee could have miraculously escaped the King’s Hall with his title still around his waist.
It appeared only a matter of time before Reid would conclude the fight in the ninth but the challenger’s accuracy continued to be largely astray. Despite flooring his man four times and emerging with the ‘W’, this was a performance devoid of quality from the former WBC champion. Reid’s increasing complacency was a cause for concern and trainer Brian Hughes, fearing a home-town decision, urged his charge to step it up in-between rounds. His pleas had little effect on Reid, however. Arguably Magee’s tentative one-twos behind his southpaw jab were enough for him to steal rounds 9 to 12. One wondered if Reid’s laziness in the closing moments would cost him dear.
Thankfully there was to be no such controversy (or grounds for a rematch) as all three judges were in agreement. This was a career reviving win for the 33-year-old Reid who was having his first outing since his hotly disputed points defeat to German icon Sven Ottke in Nuremberg in December. A challenge to WBA champion Manny Siaca or newly crowned WBC king Cristian Sanavia could be in the pipeline but to emerge victorious he must surely improve on this showing. He ups his ledger to 37-4-1.
The future for Magee looks similarly uncertain. He had made seven successful defences of the IBO strap before tonight but his punch resistance and world title aspirations were clearly exposed in what was set up to be a career defining fight. He drops to 22-1.
|
|
|
|
© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2004
|
By Ben Carey (June 26, 2004) 
