Who Is The Best Superbantam in Europe?

TFFB likes the word 'Noob' it's plain to see

 

It's out of Munroe or Dunne but if Hunter ever got his act back together he could certainly compete again, but that's a big if cos he is 30 now and hasn't looked nearly as confident since Steve Molitor stopped him and hasn't been too active.....there's also this French guy Parodi who beat Trotta over 12 rounds in his first full distance bout too and he is only 21, could be one to look out for. That said the division is littered with mediocrity.

 

There are reasons to like both men. I know which side of the camp I am on. Anyway, if and when Dunne loses to Cordoba. And if and when Munroe beats Martinez there should only really be 2 outcomes.

1) Munroe steps up to have a crack at a world strap
2) Munroe stays at EBU level and defends against Dunne.

The fact that Munroe already turned down a world title shot makes me think he will go with option 2. A fight at the Point with Dunne will be big money.

It's not a clear cut fight by any means. Neither man has the nessecary power for anyone to conclusively say that one is significanlty better than the other.

I pick Dunne by 3-4 rounds because he is a slicker boxer. He certainly won't stand there to be hit like Bouatita, Trotta and Martyrosian. I thought Munroe looked good against Martinez and I think he has looked very limited since.

Lets see what he produces against Martinez second time around. He won the fight big the first time (despite the scorecard) so lets see what happens this time. I expect another clear win.

What bothers me about this whole thing is that its turning into a hating contest. Liking Dunne = Hating Munroe and vice versa. They are both two good EBU level fighters who would match off nicely against each other if it happens.

Dunne is making the most of what he has. All this **** about 'Munroe deserves it more etc...' is pointless. Munroe turned down the chance to fight Cordoba. What was Dunne meant to do? Ring up Cordoba and say 'Look Ricardo I don't want a title fight. I'd rather wait for Munroe to beat Martinez, then wait 3-4 months to fight him, beat him and then wait another 3-4 months and then fight you'

Munroe turned down the chance this time. If he'd wanted it he could have taken it. He obviously feels he's not ready. I'm sure he can come up with another chance if he keeps winning. IN fact I expcet a rematch win against Martinez to open that door.

 

Forget about Hunter. He aint' coming back. He's fighting above SBW weight limits. He went the distance with a couple of very average lads and won close. He's nowhere near what he was like. It looks for all the world as if he's yesterdays man.

Parodi is an unknown qunatity. Nice record so far. Trotta is terrible though but credit the kid for the win. If Munroe beats Martinez then Paraodi -v- Martinez seems a good stepping stone fight for the kid.

All this talk of being worthy of shots etc... is one thing. What bothers me is Maladrottu is going to be made mandatory despite only having one MD win at SBW against a very, very modest opponent. ****ing EBU are terrible

 

I'd tend to prefer Dunne but I like Munroe's rise in status and he hasn't been overwhelmed when fighting on TV for the European title and looks good against mediocre opposition. Parodi could definitely be one to watch out for as an unknown quantity, afterall Munroe came from relatviely nowhere to beat Martinez and the same could happen for the French fighter.

If Dunne loses his challenge for the 'regular' world title this year in Ireland then there really is only one fight that makes sense....Munroe vs Dunne

Neither of these guys could last for long at true world class but are the best this continent has to offer. I just feel Munroe doesn't quite have the power to stop Dunne outpointing him on the way to 9-3 UD

 

Maludrottu actually has 3 wins at the weight including 1 against a ranked fighter a the time(Kaya), he was also the European champion at the weight below and didn't disgrace himself in a World title fight at the weight below, despite this I however don't think he deserves to be mandatory more than Dunne would. It's a shame the EBU don't order eliminators.

Hunter does look pretty much done. However you can't forget Mayhar Monshipour, who even if he has slipped quite a bit since coming back will still be a threat. He's already stopped the Italian Bantamweight champion and 2 time British Super-Bantamweight title challenger Sean Hughes in the 2 months he's been back.

Zsolt Bedak looks a promising prospect, Parodi has obviously beaten Trotta and Bouaita, which were two of Munroe's defences so he must be seen as a threat.

Martinez despite his lack of most things does possess the dig to topple anyway at the weight, he's just unlikey to land it.

Marsh is limited and lacks power, but he's a very busy fighter and pretty durable. He'd pose a decent test for Munroe.

Munroe impressed me winning the English title against Marc Callaghan which combined with information learned about Martinez inspired me to pick him to beat Martinez. Which he did with ease, and although conservatively is was impressively.

However since he hasn't impressed me at all. I missed the Bouaita fight but heard he looked poor, against Matirosian he should have stopped him without losing a round yet went the distance and let the Frenchan win 4 rounds imo(5 on two of the judges, the other had him winning 3 and drawing one), and Munroe at times even looked a little shaken by the punches he took.

Against Trotta he broke him down to the body really well and stopped him in as little time as he should, that was the positive. The negative was he once again started very slowly and lost the first 2 rounds for me, allowing himself to be outworked and easily hit.

I think he'll beat Martinez easily again and this time he'll get it clear on the cards, but Martinez does have the power to hurt him. Anytime Martinez landed glancing shots in the first fight it seemed to have some effect as Munroe either tied him up or got on his bike. Munroe was obviously never hurt like Dunne was v Martinez but the difference between Dunne and Munroe in a fight like is Munroe has the physical strength to clinch Martinez and even bully him backwards. Martinez's only chance is a stoppage and what will make it very tough is that even if he gets Munroe going, Munroe as a huge Bantam may be strong enough to survive and tough it out till he's okay again. So expect a lacklustre afair would Munroe winning comfortaly.

It's interesting that Monshipour defeated Sean Hughes btw, because Hughes was actually the orignal opponent for the Matirosian fight.

The question is what will Frank Maloney do once Munroe has beatn Martinez. I suspect if Dunne were to win(against Cordoba) they'd want that fight, but not if he loses.

Maludrottu will be out of the question as Maloney won't want the mandatory out of the way till he has to.

mandatory:Kiko Martinez
1.Simeone Maludrottu
2.Bernard Dunne
3.Matthew Marsh
4.Reidar Walstad
5.Jeremy Parodi
6.Zsolt Bedak
7.Arsen Matirosean
8.Salem Bouaita
9.Massimo Morra
10.Fabrizio Trotta

I reckon they'd go with the Matthew Marsh v Mark Moran winner or if not that the Massimo Morra(as a nice easy voluntary) or the vacant Commonwealth title might be a likely option aswell.

 

I was sure that Maladrottu beat Kaya at FW. Anyway, thats neither here nor there. I still don't think he walks to the top of the queue as SBW.

Of course Monshipour is a huge threat. However, I made an assumption that he wasn't coming back to fight at EBU level. I may be dead wrong but I can't see him bothering to come back just to fight Munroe in Nottingham. I know he has warmed up with a couple of European fighters but I may be wrong.

Like I said Parodi is looking like he could be something. A lot of fights for a European 21 year old. So definitely one to watch. Bedak I think we will have to wait a while to see if he can beat anyone who is there or thereabouts. His lack of a dig at this early stage would be an issue for me though.

If Munroe and Dunne win (I know the Dunne is hihgly unlikely). There is every chance that Peters tells Maloney to go and get ****ed. There is every chance he would bring in one of the Japanese lads for a soft voluntary before getting handed Jhonny Gonzalez as a mandatory.

In the more likely scenario that Munroe wins and Dunne loses. Maloney tells Peters to get ****ed. However, the problem here is (or should be from Munroe's point of view) that unless Munroe moves up a level or goes for a world strap I very much doubt a fight with Marsh/Morra/Bedak etc... would be anywhere near as profitable as a showdown with Bernard in the Point.

 

Matthew Marsh is a jack of all trades master of precisely none. If Hyland has any talent he'd beat him.

 

He struggled with a way past prime Esham Pickering and then a mini-war with Rocky Dean. He is British level and no further. He was actually quite fortunate Munroe went straight for the European title otherwise he would never have picked up that title, but its a weak division domestically. I expect even Moran will cause him no end of problems.