by James Slater – Back in November of last year, British middleweights Paul Samuels and Cello Renda put on a closet classic that was so good it has reportedly had over a million hits on You Tube. The now famous double-knockdown that occurred in round-two of the fight eventually won by Samuels threw the fight into cult status. The three-round war was so good, a rematch was called for. And last night, on the under-card of the Rob Norton-David Dolan cruiserweight title fight, the two 160-pounders met again..
Though not as breathtaking a battle as the first, last night’s rumble was damn good. Quite amazingly, considering the hurtful punches both guys were landing, this time the fight went the distance – with 36-year-old Samuels of Wales winning by a score of 77-74 on sole scoring official Phil Edward’s scorecard (Edwards also refereeing). Now 21-7-2(12) and 2-0 over 24-year-old Renda of Peterborough, Samuels can perhaps look forward to a big fight of some kind. Renda, who may want a third go at Samuels, is now 18-9-1(11).
The written result doesn’t go anywhere near close to telling you how good a fight the rematch was, however. In the second fight both guys again scored knockdowns with left hooks, just not at the exact same time!
Coming out looking to land hard shots from the get go, Samuels dominated the 1st-round, and out-worked and stunned Renda. Right hands to the head and body shots with both hands scored for the older warrior, as he clearly took the initial three minutes of combat.
Then, in round-two, Samuels made it appear as though he was going to win in quick fashion. Renda’s nose was by this stage badly bleeding – to the extent that his face was soon covered with blood – and Samuels was beginning to give him a working over. Renda was then decked heavily courtesy of a cracking left hook to the head. Up quite quickly but bloodied and hurt, Renda came firing back! The trading brought to mind the furious action of the first fight. Samuels then began firing in some wicked uppercuts to the head, no doubt in an attempt to inflict further damage to Renda’s surely broken nose. A huge round for the Welshman.
Amazingly, considering how worse for wear he looked as he was under fire on the ropes in the closing seconds of the 2nd round, Renda had a good session in the 3rd. It didn’t start that way, and Samuels scored with more uppercuts early on in the round. But after a brief time-out to put Renda’s mouthpiece back in, the 24-year-old showed real heart and came back with a good right hand to the head. After more exciting trading, in which Samuels landed a left hook to the head, the bell rang, ending a round that had let everyone know the war was well and truly on.
The 4th was a great round for Renda. Both guys were digging in, throwing power shots, before a nice left hand to the head sent Samuels reeling to the canvas. Now who had the upper hand? Jabbing well as soon as Samuels got back up, Renda’s fast hands were also accurate. Then, a huge left hand to the body from Renda almost doubled Samuels over. Frozen on the spot for a while, Samuels was in trouble. But Renda failed to really go for the finish and both men continued pumping out arm punches – both tiring as they were.
The bout reached the later stages, quite incredibly, and in the 6th, Renda was still sprightly, bouncing pretty well on his toes. Samuels, being crafty, dropped both hands by his sides and used his cuteness to take a breather. Samuels was still firing out some combinations, though. A slower round, with Renda the man who was pressing forward.
In the 8th and final round no-one could be too sure who was in front on the ref’s card. Renda was still on his toes, and a massive effort by him won him the last three minutes. Both guys were clinching now, but the Peterborough warrior known as “Dangerous” was doing more work – forcing himself on with gritted teeth. Samuels was pushed back in the round, and Renda closed things up points-wise. At it turned out, though, this last round display of guts wasn’t enough, as Samuels’ hand was lifted courtesy of a 77-74 score in his favour. It had appeared at least a little closer to some ringside fans.
But despite who won, both men deserve enormous credit for once again treating us to a good, hard fight. Where both guys go now we can only speculate, but despite the fact that no rubber-match is needed, a third fight would still be welcomed. These two fighters are simply incapable of meeting each other and not thrilling us!