By Nate Anderson: Last Friday night, light middleweight contender Sechew Powell (23-1, 14 KOs) overwhelmed opponent Kevin Finley (12-1-1, 9 KOs), whom he stopped in the 1st round at the Paragon Casino & Resort, in Marksville, Louisiana. My question is this: Is Powell as good as he looked against Finley, a fighter who had never fought anyone close as good as Powell, or is Powell only as good as he looked in a 10-round unanimous decision lost to Kassim Ouma in August 2006?
Judging by how Powell easily stopped Finley, you’d think that Powell, the #1 challenger for the IBF light middleweight title, is a can’t miss future champion. Not so fast, though, because Powell looked almost as bad in his bout with Ishe Smith in February 2007. He treated Smith as if he were a knockout threat, almost afraid to mix it up with him at all for the duration of their 10-round bout.
Still, I’d like to see whether Powell against a top light middleweight like IBF champion Cory Spinks or # 5 contender James Kirkland. It would be interesting to see if Powell really is as good as he looked against Finley. I think Kirkland would give him a lot of problems due to his power punching, and would perhaps knock Powell out in a quick fashion.
