Marcus Browne beats Badou Jack handedly.
Badou Jack and Marcus Browne would battle for the WBC silver light heavyweight title and rights to face champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
Going into this fight, the biggest concern about Browne was his lack of experience. Meanwhile, for Jack it was his hellaciously slow starts.
The Same Old…
Jack would oblige our concerns early as he stayed behind his usual high-guard. His opponent would go on and establish a rhythm, becoming very comfortable early. Fans who are familiar with Jack understand his slow-starts and expected him to get into gear around the fourth round.
He never found that gear! Browne was never taken out of his comfort zone at any point in this fight. The former WBA champion allowed the younger fighter to sit on the outside behind his jab.
Whenever Jack tried to get within mid-range, Browne would catch him coming in with a check hook, lead right or an uppercut, then jump out of range. On the inside, the Staten Island native would pound Jack to the body, rendering him more on the defensive at a time where he should be attempting to work.
Actually, those body shots on the inside would lead to the former champion to do some excessive holding. This would make a point deduction administered by referee Tony Weeks to Browne for holding in the seventh to be very surprising.
The Sparring Session
Nevertheless, the extra point didn’t do much of anything as the TMT fighter still had not found a rhythm. Furthermore, an accidental clash of heads would open up a gash between the eyes of Jack. This would only add to his problems as he was now a bloodied, blind and confused fighter.
It was gut-wrenching to hear Jack’s trainer Lou Del Valle plead with his fighter round after round. He would state the same thing “he’s got nothing!” However, in all actuality, Browne had everything that presented a problem.
Going into the twelfth, Del Valle would switch up his instructions stating, “We need Mike Tyson.” The statement meant he wanted Jack to go out there and apply heavy pressure in hopes of landing a knockout blow.
He of course could not do so since that is not his style. In essence, this was a sparring session for Browne en route to staying undefeated. This is an excellent win as he essentially made a top class fighter look like an amateur all night!
In the post fight interview he sent a message to Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
“Teddy Atlas, you think you have the best light heavyweight? Gvozdyk, lets go!”
Though Jack showed extreme heart fighting through a horrendous cut, he looked every bit of 35 year-old in the ring.
By: EJ Williams
