by James Slater – Last night, on the under-card of the Matthew Hatton-Lovemore N’Dou welterweight title fight, two middleweights put on a show that was nothing short of incredible. Showing in graphic detail how amazing the sport of boxing can be, Welshman Paul Samuels and Cello Renda of Peterborough gave us a three-round war that was akin to something out of a Rocky movie!
36-year-old Samuels, winner of just one of his last five outings, came out looking to cause the upset in the scheduled eight-rounder, and 24-year-old Renda, unbeaten in his last three, was equally determined to get the win..
Wasting no time at all feeling one another out, the two punchers went straight to work. Samuels had some success first, landing a left hook to the head that hurt Renda and drove him backwards. But then, as he was unloading, looking to stop his man, Samuels was countered by a left hook from Renda, and down he went. Hurt badly, the older man beat the count but was under real fire upon doing so. Renda was throwing bombs in there, and now he was looking for the stoppage. Samuels was still pressing forward though, and then, in a round of boxing that was thrilling to watch, a right to the head from Samuels wobbled Renda.
Now it was the 36-year-old’s turn to unload the bombs! Driving Renda across the ring, Samuels was putting everything into his shots. Now cut above his left eye, Renda knew he was in a war. Then the bell rang, ending what has to be one of the rounds of the year, certainly in a British ring.
The excitement was even greater in the 2nd-round.
Trading again at the start of the session, the two middleweights continued to swap hard shots, most of them being thrown to the head. Then , just like in the movie Rocky II, both men were knocked down at the exact same time! Landing left hooks to the head simultaneously, Samuels and Renda each hit the mat. Samuels was more hurt than was the 24-year-old, and he struggled to beat the count at about “nine.” Then the war resumed.
This was a tough round to score, because of the bizarre double-knockdown situation, but Renda was the man in charge at the end of the amazing three minutes, unloading on the Welshman, who now had a swelling under his right eye.
The end came in the 3rd, as Samuels gritted his teeth and roared back to hurt Renda. Letting go with more head shots, and also with a couple of digs to the body, Samuels trapped his man on the ropes and looked for the upset finish. Landing rights and lefts to the unprotected head of Renda, Samuels forced referee Terry O’Connor to dive in and save the 24-year-old. The time was 37-seconds of the round.
Now 20-7-2(12), Samuels will be in position to perhaps earn himself a nice payday. Certainly, the veteran will be getting a few phone calls from people who saw his incredible win. Renda is now 18-8-1(11) and he was stopped for the fifth time in his pro career. A rematch wouldn’t be a bad idea – in fact it would be an absolutely superb idea.
A real character (Samuels was even doing press-ups in mid-ring after the fight was over!) the Welshman just might be seen by more fans than ever due to his sensational fight. For sure, last night’s battle looks destined to wind up on You-Tube before too long.