By Jim Calfa: WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu (29-2, 25 KOs) labored to an unimpressive 12 round split decision over mandatory challenger Thabiso Mchunu (23-6, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the W.D. Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio.
Many of the rounds were close, making it difficult to choose between either fighter. The judges obviously gave Makabu the benefit of the doubt in giving him the close rounds, but you could easily have given those rounds to Mchunu.
The lack of output by Mchunu cost him the fight because he wasn’t letting his hand go enough to impress the judges. Still, he looked like he’d done more than enough to deserve the win over Makabu.
The scores were:
- 115-113 – Makabu
- 116-112 – Makabu
- 115-113 – Mchunu
Boxing News 24 had Mchunu winning 115-113. He was the better fighter of the two, but the two judges that gave it to the 34-year-old Makabu were impressed with his power and the pressure that he put on the challenger Mchunu.
Seven years ago, Makabu rallied to stop Mchunu in the 11th round in 2015. Tonight, Makabu was outboxed by Mchunu in a similar way as the previous time they ought.
The keeps Makabu in line for a possible big payday fight against superstar Canelo Alvarez next on May 7th in the U.S. Canelo made it known at the WBC’s convention that he wished to fight Makabu next so that he could have a chance to win his fifth division world title.
Canelo could face Makabu next
After tonight, Canelo will invite a lot of criticism if he stays with his plan of fighting Makabu next because he looked poor throughout, and his win over Mchunu was highly questionable.
If you’re Canelo, it would be smart to steer clear of Makabu and focus on fighting a higher-caliber fighter that the boxing world would be impressed with.
If Canelo is completely desperate to add to his career credentials, he should fight WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie.
The British fighter will gladly give Canelo a title shot, and he’ll receive credit from boxing fans of this generation and from future generations for fighting him.
Even if you ignore the controversy over Makabu’s win, he still looked far older than his 34 years, and his ability is so far below the other cruiserweight champions that it’s not funny.
It would make Canelo look desperate if he elects to face Makabu right now.
If Canelo wants to win a world title at cruiserweight, he would be far better off facing WBO champion Lawrence Okolie or IBF champion Mairis Briedis. At least by picking one of them, Canelo will receive credit from boxing fans for showing courage.
Makabu has power that might give Canelo problems, but he’s slow, indecisive, and his work rate is low. It would be an easy win for Canelo to take on Makabu, but only because he’s the weakest link among the champions at cruiserweight.
Trevor Bryan defeats Jonathan Guidry
In the chief support bout, WBA secondary heavyweight champion Trevor Bryan (22-0, 15 KOs0 defeated challenger Jonathan Guidry (17-1-2, 10 KOs) by a 12 round split decision.
In the 12th, Bryant knocked Guidry down. It appeared that the knockdown came after the round had ended, but oh well. It didn’t matter.
The judge’s scores: 118-109, 116-111 for Bryan, and 115-112 for Guidry.
Bryan showed an excellent jab, but not much else in terms of power, speed, or ring IQ. He looked nothing like a heavyweight world champion.
If Canelo is interested in capturing a sixth division world title should he get past WBC cruiserweight champion Makabu in May, Trevor Bryan would be the ideal champion at heavyweight for him to target.
The World Boxing Association needs to consolidate the titles at heavyweight so that Bryan weeded out. He doesn’t look good enough to even beat bottom ten contenders.