Jamie McDonnell vs Malik Bouziane, Any Interest?

I didn't even realise this interesting but likely snoozer was oficially on - thought it was merely being mooted - but it is, in Doncaster on the 18th of February. There hasn't been much buzz for it around here anyways and I haven't really heard much talk about it anywhere. Perhaps it's due to it being about a month and a half in a way, or because these two movement-orientated styles aren't liable to bring us Monshipour-Sithsamerchai Revisited(odd choice I know, I've literally just hit a blank when trying to think of great fights), but either way I'm looking forward to seeing whatever happens.

It's a fight for both where the ramifications of a victory exceed merely making another successful defence of the EBU Bantamweight title(McDonnell's case) or indeed winning it for the second occasion(Bouziane's case) as both look to propel themselves into(or, if you're Malik, back into) ''world'' title contention as they hope to double this as a WBC title eliminator on top of the already confirmed Euro-title fight, which, pending Nonito Donaire is finished at the weight, makes the prospect of a victory even more salivating for the winner, what with Shinsuke Yamanaka being the holder of the green and gold strap in that scenario, and thus making him both the weakest title holder and probably the easiest to secure a fight with at bantam(though a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun will probably be order of the day to allow it to happen).

McDonnell's coming into this fight on a relatively busy streak(it's Armstrong-style activity in comparison to his adversary) where he's defended his title 3 times since winning it away from home against Jerome Arnould in 2010(fitting in a Commonwealth defence in between), racking up some decent wins against the like of Stuart Hall and Stephane Jamoye while looking rather erratic and inconsistent during them. Bouziane is in a most unenviable run of form coming into this, with what will be a near two year stretch of inactivity come fight time. He himself held the title he challenges for, beating Ian Napa convincingly in London a couple of years ago. After making a dyad of defences before relinquishing the belt to fight Simphiwe Nongqayi for the IBF title the weight below, where his amateurish style blended awfully with the conventional South African's, resulting in a draw. A challenge to Cristian Mijares last year was on and off as - despite signing for the fight - the IBF kicked him out and replaced him with #1 contender Raul Martinez, who subsequently got injured leaving Mijares to fight Carlos Rueda instead, with Bouziane left by the wayside as a result.

It almost definitely won't be an entertaining spectacle, Malik's style usually dictates that, with both men's styles being centred around consistent lateral movement and trying to pick the opponent off(McDonnell's certainly more familiar with duking it out as he's usually closed down, whereas Bouziane tends to rely on his tedious brand of fencing). Though neither are adverse to undertaking the role of stalker if their opponent is unwilling to make the attempt to seize the initiative. It'll be interesting to see who will indeed be the man who decides to grasp centre-ring from the get-go, and if the layoff will subtract from Bouziane's effectiveness allowing the Doncaster fighter to dominate in unexpected fashion.

I might make another thread closer to the fight to give a proper preview(or just update and bump this), just wonder what everyone's thoughts were? Intriguing in my opinion, and hard to predict, anyone else think so?

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The Champion

• 18(7)-2-1
• 25 Years Old
• 5''8
• Notable Fights: Chris Edwards(L PTS 12), Lee Haskins(L PTS 8], Ian Napa( W PTS 12), Jerome Arnould(W TKO 10), Stephane Jamoye(W PTS 12), Stuart Hall(W PTS 12)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvwZBqMXiu4[/ame]



[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fTwww5Vgfk[/ame]

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The Challenger

• 13(1)-1-1
• 33 Years Old
• Approx. 5''6
• Notable Fights: Mohamed Bouleghcha(L PTS 10), Ian Napa(W PTS 12), Carmelo Ballone(W PTS 12), Simphiwe Nongqayi(D 12)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dSqewOzWk4[/ame]



[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gEbPsn0eJs[/ame]

 

That's pretty cool. There doesn't seem to be any undercard fights sorted yet but the main event alone is pretty good imo. McDonnell fan I take it? Do you think he can push on from European level?

 

I have to agree, he seems to just be able to grind wins out a decent amount of the time. Isn't particularly great at keeping his man off of him and struggles to stick to one style during the fight. As I said in the OP, he looks very erratic at times, almost doesn't know what he wants to do himself.

Jamoye(who I think may well have beaten him) and Hall pressured him, here he's fighting a wholely different stylistic dilemma, the exact opposite spectrum really.

 

He has height and probably reach advantages, but I believe Bouziane to be the greater reader of range, I think he could still dictate an outside fight even with his physical deficiencies. I remember when McDonnell was getting close to Hall, he was bobbing and weaving in front of him, but not throwing anything. He was moving side to side and then reeling out of range without throwing an awful lot, it was bizarre. I hope for his sake he's become a bit more consistent there, otherwise he might have to rely on Bouziane coming in very rusty.

Yeah, I had a similar kind of scenario regarding Bernard Dunne. I'm not really one to support a guy based merely on nationality, but I saw him live plenty of times and he just kind of grew on me over time. Added to that I was a fan of his style.

McDonnell reminds me of Gary Sykes a bit. Not in terms of how they fight(though they aren't majorly different I suppose) but more the fact that on their own, the styles they have are kind of annoying, yet as long as they don't fight an extremely negative fighter they guarantee a decent fight. You could say the same about Amir Khan also to a degree I guess.

:good I agree. He's still pretty young though, he certainly has time to improve. Right now I think he's just an elite European fighter, though I could see him potentially growing into a fighter who just falls short of the ''world class'' guys. I honestly think that if he manages to sort out a couple of weaknesses he could beat a guy like Kameda.

 

Yeah, it won't be much of a spectacle. I hope people don't misinterpret my ''interest'' as me saying it'll be fun to watch. It won't. Probably. I actually included the word ''snoozefest'' in my original title but my internet screwed itself over and I couldn't remember what it was originally.

I'm have a vested interest in this more for the implications this fight has more so than the action that will take place. As Gero said, McDonnell's style makes for good fights when he has a Jamoye or a Hall coming at him, Bouziane does lead sometimes, but not when he can force his man into advancing, which he'll probably be able to do here. So we'll probably be left with McDonnell being the only one even coming close to forcing the initiative, which he isn't all that effective at doing, against a dude who's usually pretty negative.

In spite of all that I'm looking forward to it.