By Ian Aldous: This past Saturday night, former British champion and undefeated Kid Galahad (now 17-0) added the Commonwealth super-bantamweight belt to his European title with a destructive performance against the three-weight Australian champion, Fred Mundraby, at the Ponds Forge Arena in Sheffield, England, live on Channel 5. I was at ringside to cover all the action for BN24.
Going into the fight on Saturday, it had only been seven weeks previous that Galahad was last in the ring when he expertly dispatched Sergio Prado with a great display of his pure boxing talent to claim the vacant European championship. It’s refreshing to see a fighter willing to fight so regularly in this day and age.
Galahad was particularly bullish pre-fight when asked about British compatriot and current WBA super-bantamweight champion, Scott Quigg. “I believe that him and his trainer will want no part of it (a fight between the two), as Quigg is probably still having nightmares from our last sparring session, as we both know what happened there!!!” The name of Scott Quigg would arise post-fight as well.
So, to the job at hand. Galahad was flanked on his way to the ring by fellow Ingle-trained fighters, former world champion Junior Witter and world champion in waiting, Kell Brook. Just like in his last outing, Galahad was quick to begin showing how adept he is at switch-hitting, swapping orthodox and southpaw stances with regularity in the first round. He had success from the off with lefts to the body before a big left hand knocked Mundraby onto his heels. The current Australian super-bantamweight champion was pushed backwards, against his will, throughout. In the second, some lighting fast combinations illustrated his hand speed as Mundraby’s face began to redden. Kid worked the body and head, it was clear he was gradually grinding his Australian opponent down. It was a worryingly early stage for Fred to have a forlorn look about him. In the third round, Galahad belied his young age when he showed a bit of veteran know-how when using his weight to push Mundraby up against the ropes and pepper him on the inside. After a seven or eight punch combo, it looked like it would surely be a matter of time before Kid would get the stoppage win. The finishing touches were applied in the fourth with another dominant round for the twenty-four year-old hometown fighter. His punches were piercing the guard of Mundraby, but to his credit, despite the imminent defeat, he was throwing shots and fighting back. The fight was ended after the fourth as Fred retired on his stool – his only other defeat coming in Japan when he also retired in similar fashion.
In the post-fight interview, when asked about where he continues his journey from here, Galahad chose to answer Scott Quigg as his easiest route to a world title, although adding that “I don’t think that Quigg would ever fight me.” It’s a domestic fight that any British boxing fan would love to see in late 2014 or early next year. Promoter, Mick Hennessy said he’d like to get Galahad back in the ring in September. Even if you rate him behind Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg in the British super-bantamweight rankings, it’s impressive to see the way Kid consistently continues to deal with whatever opposition is put in front of him. He entered the ring on Saturday night to the tones of ‘Viva Las Vegas’ by Elvis Presley. Who knows, it might be sooner than we think that he’ll be fighting in the very city that ‘The King’ was singing about?
The chief support saw nineteen year-old heavyweight prospect, Hughie Fury, continue his professional boxing education against the rugged, Sunderland based, Danny Hughes in an eight-round contest. Fury knew this would be a tough test with the knowledge that Hughes had only ever lost to Audley Harrison and Michael Sprott (both three-round decision losses in separate Prizefighter tournaments). The first round saw Hughes take the centre of the ring with little action taking place. Fury seemed to just about control the fight despite Hughes proving to be a worthy opponent. By the middle rounds, I was a little disappointed to not see the fireworks I was expecting from the bout. Credit has to go to Danny for not allowing Fury to use his height and reach advantage. Much like his cousin, Tyson Fury, I expect to see a great future for Hughie in the sport and on the night he proved he can get through a very tricky fight and come away with the decision win. At the final bell both men were slugging it out in the old-fashioned heavyweight style. Referee Jeff Hinds scoring the bout 79-74 in favour of Hughie Lewis Fury as he improves to (14-0). In time, I think Fury will learn to use his reach to much better effect than he currently does and that will enable him to eventually reach world level. At nineteen years of age, he certainly has time on his side.
Also on the Sheffield undercard, Jordan Gill stood out as a solid super-featherweight prospect with a great display against the bloodied Michael Mooney en route to a four-round decision win. The Cambridgeshire born fighter is now (10-0).
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