British Scene: Ryan Rhodes vs Luca Messi Preview

Andrew Harrison previews this Friday's European 154lb title clash between champion Ryan Rhodes and challenger Luca Messi.  For more from Andrew, make sure to check out his blog, Safe Side of the Ropes.

Ryan Rhodes returns to action on Friday night in his home town of Sheffield, against the "Bergamo Bomber", Luca Messi. How the Italian wound up using his hands rather than his feet for a living with a name like that beggars belief, however, the fighter with a priest for a cornerman (his brother Alessandro) will be looking to go one better than his footballing namesake Lionel, by getting his hands on some European silverware this weekend.

Messi, 36-7 (12), is on a decent looking run since being stopped on Italian soil in his previous tilt at winning European honours, by compatriot Michele Piccirillo in 2006. His six straight wins since that setback, would suggest a bit of a rebirth on paper, however, closer inspection reveals much about the level of opponent he’s been in with. With a combined record of 25-80-7 at the time they faced off with the former Italian champion, we can safely assume that he’s been eased back into winning ways rather gently to say the least.

If we tilt the magnifying glass a little farther, it’s a tad mind boggling to note that Messi has only defeated eleven fighters with winning records (two of those by disqualification). How a fighter manages to challenge for a national title, a European title (twice) as well as a world title with numbers like those, probably says more about his promoter than it does the fighter.

At the age of 35, this probably represents a last hurrah for him in terms of challenging for honours, and he’ll find the atmosphere less than welcoming at the Ponds Forge Sports Centre. The squat, two handed swarmer has fought away from home previously, though, most notably in 2005, against WBA light middleweight titlist Alejandro "Terra" Garcia in Chicago.

In true Italian Stallion style, Messi (who had been expected to crumble pretty quickly), had set his stall out just to survive against his more accomplished opponent, whilst giving him bit of a scrap in the process. This he did, battling Garcia head on for the full twelve rounds in a tenacious effort. Messi rose from a knockdown in the seventh and despite losing a wide, unanimous decision, his battling display earned him applause as he left the ring.

Rhodes, 43-4 (29), is coming off the biggest win of his career. In the domestic fight of last year, the Sheffield switch hitter stopped Salford’s Jamie Moore in the seventh round of a bout which had been sold as a WBC title eliminator at 154 lbs. It was a fantastic performance from Rhodes, one I was privy to be ringside for in Bolton. The former "Spice Boy" of British boxing stood inside with Moore, cannily evading Jamie’s attacks before pot shotting him with speedy counters. Rhodes also mixed in a good body attack that night, one which eventually took its toll, sapping the legs of the weight drained European champ.

It was a resurgent win for Ryan, one he had hoped to capitalise on with a world title crack, yet promotional strife left him parked up in the garage for the seven months between that bout and this. Now, at the age of 33 and after signing a three fight deal with Hatton Promotions, he’ll be looking to kick on to attain the title shot at light middleweight which has always eluded him.

Rhodes has never lost at his current poundage, with all four of his defeats coming up at middleweight. Whilst his losses to Otis Grant and Jason Matthews back in the 90’s can be explained away by a lack of experience and an overabundance of confidence, his other two defeats, to Lee Blundell and Gary Lockett, showed two completely different sides of the same coin.

Wiped out within three rounds by the unheralded Blundell, Rhodes showed grit and resilience to last the distance with Welsh puncher Lockett, flooring Gary in round ten despite coming up short on the cards. One would imagine he will hold too much power for Messi here, who’ll be coming at him in straight lines, looking to force the action.

If Ryan has picked up anything in the way of rust, or has lost a step in terms of motivation (which has cost him before), he could find himself dragged into a mauling and untidy eyesore of a fight. That’s my only concern here, however, I fancy he’ll win handily regardless. It should be fun while it lasts yet I can see Rhodes busting Messi up with hard, accurate punches in close, before taking him out, sometime before half way.

With his Italian job completed, Rhodes can look to build on his number four rating with the WBC. With current world titlist Sergio Martinez mulling over a relocation to middleweight, Rhodes will hope that he can land a match with one of the men rated above him to fill the void. The names in the frame currently are: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Antonio Margarito and Kermit Cintron. A fight with Chavez in particular, would appear a winnable one for him to my eyes.