Michael Plania wins what he calls a “life changing bout” against Joshua Greer Jr!
In a rather dramatic upset and the first since boxing’s return from the COVID-19 pandemic, bantamweight contender “Magic” Mike Plania (24-1, 12 KO’s) defeated WBO #1, IBF #2 and WBC #7 ranked contender Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer Jr (22-2-1, 12 KO’s) by way of majority decision.
Heading into the bout, Greer would have rather been fighting WBO world bantamweight champion John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero (29-4, 20 KO’s). Now, that fight, like this on-air opportunity, just went up in smoke.
BUMPIER THAN EXPECTED
Ironically enough, the very first round was essentially a blue print for the majority of the bout. To begin the prizefight, Don’t Blink came out behind his jab and using his light feet to continuously circle around Plania. The movement was clearly giving the Filipino fighter problems as he was having substantial trouble cutting the ring off.
Despite the frustration that he had to endure dealing with the movement, Plania still managed to land a single hard left hook that deposited Greer on the ground. To his credit, Greer got up and did not appear to be buzzed or overly shook up. Although, having tasted the power and the canvas, it was evident that he had no desire to wage war in close…at least within the early rounds.
Due to his commitment to his jab and movement the bout did take on a bit of a lackluster feel for a number of rounds. While he kept it largely under control, it was very obvious that at certain points Magic Mike was very frustrated with Greer’s unwillingness to engage.
Beyond just getting miffed, Plania was pressing the action and landing hard sneaky blows to the body.
Then in the sixth round, that same devastating left hook slipped through Greer’s defense and put him down again. Much like in the first period, Greer got up from the shot with clear eyes and sturdy legs. Yet, in terms of the scoring, the damage had already been done.
Beginning in the eighth round, the top ranked contender ceased using his feet so much and elected to stand in the pocket with Plania for much longer stretches. Once utilizing the notably more aggressive tactic, he began enjoying much success. This made viewers wonder “why didn’t he do this earlier? Did he not watch Plania’s loss against former WBA champion Juan Carlos Payano?”
It even looked like Plania was starting to fatigue. Yet, when all was said in done, Greer holding his ground was “too little, too late!”
HOUSE FIGHTER BLUES
At the end of regulation one judge had a draw while the other two saw Plania winning by scores of 96-92 and 97-91. Without question the loss is a crushing setback for Greer who had his mind set for a title fight. Now, the Chicago native will have to regroup and figure out what’s next.
For Plania, however, this is a wonderful way to return to the world of boxing! Unlike Greer, he was not in the top ten rankings of any of the four major sanctioning bodies so this is a wildly fantastic win.
By: Bakari Simpson
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