On June 25th, junior middleweight contender Sechew Powell made a bid for his first world title when he met IBF champion Cornelius ?K-9? Bundrage for a second time. Powell had stopped Bundrage in eighteen harrowing seconds six years ago, a fight in which the two men traded knockdowns in the opening seconds before Powell would rise to ice Bundrage off with a straight left hand, and there was no reason to think he wouldn?t have success in the rematch.
But on this night in St. Louis, Powell?s date with Bundrage played out much differently over the course of twelve rounds. Despite having his moments in the first half of the fight, Powell appeared to fade in the championship rounds and tasted a bitter defeat as he lost by scores of 119-109, 117-111, and 115-113.
Having suffered his third loss as a professional and having just turned 32 years old, it was hard to get a gauge on where Powell?s mindset was after the fight. Speaking to me earlier this week, the Brooklyn fighter admitted that in some ways he was still trying to shake off the disappointment.
