Why Shane Cameron will beat Monte Barrett

By Boxing News - 07/04/2012 - Comments

By Eugene Carnachan: Shane ‘The Mountain Warrior’ Cameron 28-2-30 an Auckland based New Zealand heavyweight is going up against American veteran Monte ‘Two Gunz’ Barrett 35-9-2 in his hometown on June 5th.

The fight taking place at Auckland’s Sky City Casino has been sold out for weeks – there is even a waiting list in case of cancellations.

On paper the American will walk away with this fight. Barrett in his career has fought the higher calibre of opposition in duking it out with world champions David Haye, Hasim Rahman, Wladimir Klitschko and Nikolai Valuev while also having fought Cuban contender Olandier Solis.

All of those contests were losing efforts with Barrett not being able to post the career defining wins that could have established him as a top echelon heavyweight.

I don’t want to sound deprecating as Barrett has skills, determination, discipline and very good spatial awareness but lacking in power and size that are now very much a part of the new era of heavyweight boxing.

At 39 years of age and verging on retirement Barrett’s career got a mini revival in 2010 courtesy of dropping David Tua for the first time in the Samoan slugger’s professional career, Tua getting off the canvass to eek out a draw in a contest many thought Barrett (Tua himself later stated as much) had done enough to win.

Two years later Barrett righted that decision in posting a unanimous points decision over Tua in Tua’s hometown of Auckland.

David Tua is the common high profile opponent Barrett and Shane Cameron have on their records, Tua easily dismantling Cameron in two rounds in 2009.

Shane Cameron has being campaigning at Cruiserweight in looking for a big money fight against Australian Danny Green but with that failing to materialize and the opportunity to fight Barrett he has put on eight kilograms and returned to the heavyweight division where he has primarily campaigned in his ten year career.

Shane Cameron is a front foot pressure fighter, similar in method to a prime David Tua but without the devastating punching power of Tua (not many have that power).

A volume punching fighter Cameron wears his opponents down as opposed to getting them out with any one shot.

No one is picking Cameron to win this fight and he is paying seven dollars for a win by knockout however I think the most probable outcome of this contest is a Cameron win quite simply because of the effective and stifling pressure Cameron will bring.

Barrett with a 42% KO ratio in his 46 contests is not a renowned puncher and herein lies the key to the fight. David Tua in the two contests he had with Barrett could not sustain the pressure he was reputed for in the 1990s, allowing Barrett to dictate the real estate of both their contests. Barrett in both fights essentially used the same game in fighting Tua, working off the back of an effective jab while working Tua to the right away from his vaunted left hook and from corner to corner in running the air out of Tuas tires it proved effective.

Without sustained pressure Tua could not wear Barrett down and bridge the gap that enabled him to be able Barrett often enough to put him away or win on points.

That will not happen in this fight.

Shane Cameron will be able to exert pressure upon Barrett. At 34 years of age and in superb physical condition after spending three weeks sparring with David Haye. Cameron will toe step Barrett and force Barrett to exchange and it is that sustained and dogmatic pressure that will wear the older fighter down.

The age old adage boxing goes that ‘skills win fights’ however in this particular fight I think it more probable that the will of the younger man will ultimately define the outcome – a Cameron KO in the mid to latter rounds.



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