Small Stops Takaloo

By Boxing News - 01/13/2008 - Comments

British light middleweight Anthony Small (17-1, 11 KOs) stopped Mehrdud Takaloo (25-7, 17 KOs) in the 7th round last night in a one-sided bout at the York Hall, in Bethnal Green, London. Small knocked Takaloo down in the third, fourth and seventh rounds, prompting referee Richard James Davies to stop the bout at 2:57 of the 7th round, as Takaloo, 32, was taking tremendous punishment and wasn’t able to properly defend himself.

Takaloo, the former World Boxing Union welterweight champion, had difficulties with Small’s speed from the very fist moments of the fight, as he was hit repeatedly with left hooks and jabs and was slow in responding. Though he was able to land some good shots, he looked too small and slow and wasn’t able to compete. Small, however, wasn’t exactly impressive either, as he had a foolish habit of retreating to the ropes and resting against them and covering up, letting Takaloo get in free shots.

You’d have thought that Small would have figured out that this isn’t the smartest thing to do, yet he continued to do this periodically during the bout. It didn’t matter much, however, as Takaloo was so far over his head, he probably couldn’t have won the fight even if Small had stuck his chin out and given him free shots. But, Small showed that he’s not a world class fighter, despite his considerable skills. Small continued to pound away on Takaloo in the 2nd round, having an easy time tagging him from the outside. When the shorter-armed Takaloo would come inside, Small would blast him with quick left looks.

In the 3rd round, Small almost immediately tagged Takaloo with a big left hook that cut his left eye. The referee stopped the action momentarily to take a look at Takaloo’s eye. As soon as the action resumed, Small landed a huge left hook that dropped Takaloo to the canvas. Small was unable to finish Takaloo off after he got up off the canvas, as he couldn’t connect properly with his left hook.

Takaloo would have his moments in both the 3rd and 4th rounds, hitting Small with some decent shots. However, his punches had little effect on Small, who merely would continue firing back with his own shots.

In the 4th round, Small dropped Takaloo with another big left hook. Again, however, Small proved to be a lousy finisher, missing with his follow-up shots.

In the 5th and 6th rounds, Small would continue to dominate the fight, hitting Takaloo over and over with left hooks. As in the other rounds, Small would retreat to the ropes and let Takaloo tag him with his own power shots.

In the 7th, Takaoo started off strong, landing some excellent combinations while on the ropes. However, just as he was landing a big right hand, Small hit him with a big left hook, dropping Takaoo to the canvas. This time, Takaloo was badly hurt after getting up and in no shape to defend himself. Small proceeded to unload with a blizzard of shots, ending when referee Richard James Davies moved in and stopped the bout at 2:57 of the 7th round.