The Best of the Rest: 175lbs Tier II Tournie - QF 1: John Conteh UD15 Max Rosenbloom

The first Quarter-Final of the tournament brings together two of the favourites to win the whole bag; John Conteh out of Liverpool and Max Rosenbloom out of New York. Two left-handed geniuses with 3 stoppage losses between them in 300 fights. So we're looking at a decision here, almost certainly.

JOHN CONTEH (34-4-1)
So far Conteh has been broadly untested, coasting his way to a one-handed 15 round decision victory over Zsolt Erdie in the first round that some onlookers scored by shutout. In the second round he met with the much more storied Joey Maxim but once again, there was only one fighter in the fight as Coneh boxed around Maxim's deploy and score style with great ease, turning up the heat as the championship rounds approached, likely only a damaged right keeping Maxim in the fight up to the final bell. This was the performance, the manner of which was genuinely surprising, which made Conteh one of the tournie favourites. Hand healed, fully deployed in vicious displays of public sparring, Conteh is ready for the QF.
UD 15 Zsolt Erdie
UD15 Joey Maxim

MAXIE ROSENBLOOM (207-39-26)
Max Rosenbloom has had the tougher draw of the two men but he made almost as light of Billy Miske in his first round match, winning without leaving second gear and snoozing his way through the final third of a fight he had in the bag by the tenth. Miske was outclassed across the board. Rosenbloom ran into a stiffer test in the second round, however, in shape of youngster Michael Moorer. Maxie was in trouble after shipping a hellacious right hand to the body in the second and very much needed his championship-head on to take control back in a fight that seemed in the balance through eight. Aided by a serious Moorer fade, Rosenbloom demonstrated his tournament credentials in what ended as a comfortable decision win.
UD15 Billy Miske
UD15 Michael Moorer

The winner here is likely going to be the tournament favour in what will also be the match of the round for boxing purists.

 

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Tbh, Moorer never really landed anything heavy upstairs, at all. He did dig a couple of good bodyshots, but both guys all healed up. Thank heavens!

 

It's far from over! Conteh has dominated the first four rounds is all...

 

3 hours to go!

 

John Conteh so dominated Maxie Rosenbloom with his left that he kept his right - injured in the second round - sheathed for the most part, cracking three straight right off Maxie's head in the first and unloading again with the punch in the 11th and 12th when Rosenbloom made a desperate, surging effort to swarm Conteh out of position. Conteh was not for moving, however, finding Rosenloom with an unerring jab that left Maxie bereft of plan or move.

The judges all saw it wide for the Englishman who coasted through the 14th and 15th as peace broke out in a fight that by then resembled a spar, but for the cuts Rosenbloom suffered over both eyes.