Anthony Ogogo vs. Craig Cunningham – Results

By Boxing News - 10/22/2016 - Comments

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By Jim Dower: Super middleweight Craig Cunningham (17-1, 4 KOs) proved to be too much for previously unbeaten 2012 Olympian Anthony Ogogo (11-1, 7 KOs) in defeating him by an 8th round TKO on Saturday night to win the vacant WBC International middleweight title in Birmingham.

Ogogo’s trainer Tony Sims pulled him out of the fight in the corner during the 8th round after a timeout by referee Ian John Lewis. The southpaw Cunningham put Ogogo down in the 2nd round from a right hand to the head, and dominated the remainder of the fight.

The 27-year-old Ogogo appeared to have stamina issues in the fight, as he was fading by the 6th round. Before this fight, Ogogo had never gone past the 6th round during his three-year pro career. Seven of Ogogo’s fights had been early knockouts, so it wasn’t surprising to see him fading after the 6th.

Cunningham appeared to stagger Ogogo in the 4th with a left hand down the pike. He also seemed to hurt Ogogo in the 6th and 7th rounds with left hands to the head. Ogogo had trouble with Cunningham’s accurate hooks that he kept hitting him with each time Ogogo would throw a right hand.

Ogogo would be defenseless momentarily while following through with his right hands. This enabled Cunningham to land right hooks that frequently caught Ogogo on the left side of his head when he off balance from having thrown his shots.

The crowd was on Cunningham’s side the entire fight, and this seemed to bother Ogogo, who before this fight had been accustomed to hearing favorable applause from the crowd.
The boxing fans really got on Ogogo and referee Ian John Lewis’ case during the 8th round when Lewis stopped the action to have loose tape removed from Ogogo’s glove.

Cunningham had staggered Ogogo in the round with a left hand, and he was having his way in hitting him with a series of punches just before referee Ian John Lewis stopped the action to have Ogogo’s glove repaired. The timing of the glove repair timeout would have possibly been beneficial to Ogogo if his corner didn’t halt the fight.

Cunningham did a great job of catching Ogogo clean with left hands in the first two rounds. Cunningham stood on the outside, leaning forward and looking to land single shots to the head of Ogogo. When Ogogo would attempt to attack Cunningham, he would back away quickly to avoid getting hit. It worked well for Cunningham in the fight, as Ogogo couldn’t land much of anything.

In the 2nd round, Ogogo was dropped by a right hook from Cunningham.

Ogogo seemed to lose his composure almost immediately in the fight, as he was hit again and again by Cunningham when he was pressing the attack. It wasn’t a wipeout by Cunningham. The rounds were competitive, but he was the better fighter in almost every round. Ogogo looked tired and out of sorts. He landed some nice shots in the 4th and 5th, but he kept getting hit and his face was red from exhaustion by that point in the fight.

Cunningham said this after the fight to Sky Sports about his win over Ogogo:

“I love being the underdog, nothing fazes me. I had to check how quick he actually was. I fancied myself as a counter-puncher. My knockout record isn’t great but if I catch someone, they’re going to go. You can’t teach heart, can you?”