Radivoje Kalajdzic wants rematch with Marcus Browne

By Boxing News - 04/17/2016 - Comments

Image: Radivoje Kalajdzic wants rematch with Marcus BrowneBy Dan Ambrose: #11 IBF light heavyweight contender Radivoje Kalajdzic (21-1, 14 Kos) wants a rematch against undefeated U.S. 2012 Olympian Marcus Browne (18-0, 13 KOs) after losing a controversial 8 round split decision last Saturday night on the undercard of the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Chris Algieri card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Kalajdzic’s promoter Lou Dibella says he’ll eventually get a rematch against the 25-year-old Browne down the line at some point. Dibella told Kalajdzic that he should have done more in the first four rounds of the fight so that the judges couldn’t take the decision away from him. However, Kalajdzic would have won the fight if not for a mistake on the part of the referee Tony Chiarantano, who blew a call in the 1st round when he saw Kalajdzic hit the deck and gave Browne credit for a knockdown on what was really a slip on Kalajdzic’s part.

Chiarantano then stood and did nothing after Browne wound up and hit Kalajdzic when he was on the deck. Missing the first call is something that could happen to any referee in the business, but then doing nothing when Browne hit Kalajdzic with a shot while he was down was another blown call. At the very minimum, Browne should have had a point deducted from him if not a disqualification. Browne won the fight by the scores 76-74 and 76-75 for Browne, and 76-74 for Kalajdzic.

“I think the chances for a rematch down the line are good,” said Dibella to thaboxingvoice about Kalajdzic. “He should have fought the first four rounds like he fought the last four rounds. He made it too close. I thought he won. It wasn’t a knockdown in the 1st round. It was a slip. He proved himself in the fight. I think most people thought he should have gotten the decision. I think we got robbed but it was close. If he had done a little bit more in the first four rounds, they wouldn’t have been able to take it from him. He in at the same level as Marcus,” said Dibella.

With Dibella saying that a rematch between Browne, ranked #7 WBA, #8 IBF, #13 WBC, #15 WBO, and Kalajdzic taking place in the future, it makes you wonder when that time will come. If it happens after Browne fights for a world title and loses, then it might not be as big a deal for Kalajdzic. It’s not likely that Browne will beat any of the current light heavyweight champions because they’re so good and he’s so flawed.

If Kalajdzic is only going to get a shot against Browne on the rebound of him having been blown out by one of the world champions, then it might be worth it. If I were Kalajdzic, I wouldn’t bother wasting my time fighting Browne under those circumstances. It would be a situation where Kalajdzic would have nothing to gain because Browne would have already been exposed by the likes of Sergey Kovalev or Adonis Stevenson.

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“Nobody likes to lose, but from the way they were cheering me on, it makes me feel a little bit better,” said Kalajdzic to Thaboxingvoice. “I’m in his own hometown and his own fans were boosing him. So that tells me who really won. If he’s a real fighter like he says he is and thinks he can besat me again, he can give me a rematch. The first knockdown should have even counted. He didn’t even hit me. They should have taken a point off, but they didn’t. I didn’t see how I lost. He was holding and holding. He was running out of gas. If it was a 10 round fight, I don’t think he would have made it,” said Kalajdzic.