The middleweight division has lacked excitement in recent years. The public haven’t felt the same pull that they feel for other weight classes and their champions.
Willis v Hughes changed all of that. Styles make fights and this one promised to be a classic. Both men have impressive KO ratios and both come to fight. Skill and defence never factors high on either mans priority list. Instead, they both favour raw power, punch volume and pressure tactics to win victory. Most intriguingly, both men were undefeated.
The fight started fast. Hughes took the centre of the ring and Willis circled. It only too 3seconds for the first fight to be thrown. Within 30 seconds, both were standing toe-to-toe and trading power shots.
The middle rounds offered plenty of action. Both men hit the canvas. Willis fell to a 5 punch combination in round 5, easily getting up and recovering. Hughes went down hard to a single left hook in round 7.
The end came in round 9. Once again, both men didn’t move their feet and power shots went flying. Most seemed to hit the arms and gloves. A hook to the body, followed up with a huge uppercut put Hughes down. He missed the count suffering his first loss via ko rd 9.
Hughes “Fair play to him. He hits hard. Brilliant champion. I felt good in there. Very comfortable but I got caught and didn’t make the count. It’s that simple. I felt good and training went well. I just got caught. That’s the name of the game. The better fighter won tonight. I tip my hat. I will learn from it and improve”
Willis “He came to fight. It was competitive from the very start. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to prove my place, my legacy. The game plan was good and I stuck to it. He’s a great fighter and I expect to see many great showings from him. tonight he was in the ring with me. I’m different. You cant train for me”.
James Fearne
English Boxing Union 