by Ronnie Jordan: The European Super Bantamweight champion Rendall Munroe travels to Japan on September 24th to take on Toshiaki Nishioka for the World Boxing council belt. The tough fighter from Leicester England burst onto the scene two years ago after capturing the European title with a surprise victory over the highly touted Kiko Martinez. Since then he’s been extremely busy defending the belt five times against tough opposition, as well as capturing the Commonwealth title along the way.

As a boxing writer part of the challenge when attempting an article is finding new and interesting subjects to write about. A point some of the other writers on this site should consider. I can’t think of another fighter who has captured the imagination of the nations boxing fans like Rendell Munroe has. As well as establishing himself as one of the counties top fighters, Munroe is also a full time bin man in his home town of Leicester. He gets up at the crack of dawn and slaves for hours disposing of the public’s rubbish before heading to the gym to continue his training for his next top championship fight. To call him a working class hero would be an understatement. To me he defines the meaning of that saying. With so many fighters accused of being flashy and out of touch, surly Munroe’s a perfect example of someone who’s unaffected by his success. Munroe embraces the title of the “boxing bin man” with his corner men wearing fluorescent yellow jackets and having his day job colleague carry his European belt into the ring for him.

His most valuable asset is his stamina. His work rate going into the later rounds is incredible. After the none stop action bout against Simone Maludrottu in November 2009, where both fighters threw nearly a 1000 punches a piece, Munroe was asked whether he was getting tired at any point during the fight. Munroe replied “no I don’t get tired. I’m just a slow starter, after a few rounds I’m warmed up and I feel like I can go on all day.” Is it just a coincidence that Munroe is known for having such a strong work ethic inside the ring while at the same time has such a demanding day job? His willingness to work hard for a living surly helps him find the motivation to dig deep in the later rounds.

Some have accused Munroe of being a bit crude in his fighting style and not selective enough with his shots. Although it’s true with his relentless all action style he looses a bit of precision, he still has plenty of boxing ability. Martinez who blew Bernard Dunne out inside a round was exposed and convincingly out boxed by Munroe. But there’s no doubt its his ability to fight at a relentless pace for the full 12 rounds that’s shot him into world title contention.

So can the bin man add another chapter to this amazing story? Toshiaki Nishioka has defended his WBC title 5 times and although he has 4 defeats on his record is unbeaten in his last 13 fights. His KO ratio has improved since moving up to super bantam weight having won 8 of his last 9 inside the distance. The fighter from Japan is a good slick boxer with very fast hands and a hard straight left. This is the punch Rendall needs to avoid if he wants to come away with the title. Nishioka is the better boxer of the two but the same was also said about Victor Terrazas and Simone Malludruttu but neither fighter could handle the pressure Munroe put them under. I can see the 34 year-old Nishioka struggling to cope with the younger man and possibly even succumbing to the KO late in the fight. If he wins it will be the second British world title victory in a week and like Ricky Burns a great example of how hard work and dedication pays off.

Munroe stated he will still continue with his day job if he wins the WBC belt because it improves his boxing. Know one would blame him if he decided to pack it in but to be honest I think he wants to be known around the world as the “first boxing bin man world champion”!