Names like Basilio and Marciano are etched in stone when it comes to Fights of the Year. So are Hagler and Hearns for their non-stop all-action war in 1985. Somsak Sithchatchawal and Mahyar Monshipour did the same in 2006. Incredible comebacks like Corrales vs. Castillo in 2005, Castro vs. Jackson in 1994, and Chavez vs. Taylor in 1990 were rousing affairs. Others involved leaving it all in the ring as Timothy Bradley did against Siberian monster Ruslan Provodnikov in 2013. Gatti, Ward and Matthew Saad Muhammad put their own brand on thrills and chills. Ebb and flow epics like Robert Quiroga vs. Kid Akeem are special as well. Nardico vs. Norkus defined the Pier Six brawl. And Benn, Watson and Eubank did their share to fill the memory bank. Indeed, some truly memorable fights have occurred over the years.
Now there are Fights of the Year and there are Fights of the Year, but I am still reeling from what I witnessed via YouTube on February 22, 2014 in a fight that took place at the Ice Arena in Hull, Yorkshire, UK. This one had it all: Blood-letting head butts, multiple fouls for hitting low and on the break, an intrusive referee, ebb and flow action, body shot knockdowns generated by hard Mexican-style hooks to the liver, a late round Froch-like attack, a last round rally, and 8 knockdowns in all?yes 8. It was as if someone decided to put all of the ingredients of different FOTY?s into one fight.
It featured a tough Argentinian boxer — are there any other kind– named Daniel Eduardo ?Tatu? Brizuela (25-2-2 coming in) who competed in the2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and Hull?s own Tommy ?Boom Boom? Coyle (17-2). At stake was Tommy?s IBF International lightweight title which he won by stopping John Simpson in November 2013.
The Beginning
After a feeling out first round, commentator Jim Watt said, ?I think this little fella is going to cause Coyle some problems tonight.? His comment would prove prophetic as Tatu decked? Boom Boom? in the second with a sharp straight right to the head. He then went after Tommy with hooks to the body and more rights.
After ebb and flow involving solid of exchanges and relatively few clinches over the next few rounds,, the Argentinian shocked and decked Coyle twice in the 6th round The first came as a result of a crunching and lightning-fast left to the liver that had Tommy down and gasping for breath. Most boxers never get up from these types of shots. Sensing the end, Tatu immediately jumped on Coyle putting him down again with a vicious left. Tommy was on the verge, but amazingly and with traditional Brit grit waved Tatu in and came back in the last 50 seconds to riddle Brizuela with his own brand of aggression. Though a 10-7 round, it was still a great one but there was more to come.
Tommy recovered in the7th backing up Brizuela and rattling him with hooks and appeared to win the round.
The Momentum Shifts
The 8th belonged to Coyle despite having a point deducted for a low blow by Referee Steve Gray who was becoming increasingly intrusive and visible with each round. With 18 seconds left, Coyle caught his opponent with a big right and quickly followed it up with 3 more to deck Tatu for the first time in the fight. The right that wobbled Daniel signaled a shift in momentum and the crowd sensed it. All of a sudden, Tommy was back in the game.
A point was deducted against Brizuela in the 9th for a low blow that had Tommy on the deck and in pain. But the gap was closing.
A head clash occurred in an otherwise uneventful 10th and the Argentinian was now bleeding but it had no apparent impact. Meanwhile the crowd began to chant, ?Tommy, Tommy? urging the Hull native on.
The Beginning of the End
Things changed dramatically in the 11h round as Coyle, getting sage corner advice from trainer Jamie Moore, made his move, but not before Brizuela punished him with hard body shots and finally decked him with a paralyzing hook to the side. After taking the count, Tommy immediately came back and put Daniel down with a brutal right that landed flush. When Referee Gray asked him to walk to him, he walked backwards, but Gray allowed the fight to continue. The fight could well have been stopped at that point. Gray was fast losing control of the action.
The Hull native then assumed a Froch-like mode carrying his right hand low and ready to use it as a cannon as he began a rampage. In so doing, he trapped and floored Brizuela again with two vicious rights. The onslaught continued but incredibly Tommy was deducted another point for unwisely and blatantly hitting on the break. Like the sixth, the eleventh round was pure excitement.
The End
In what was an extremely close fight going into the 12th and final round, Coyle finally closed the gap at the 1.07 mark when he hurt and then floored Brizuela with three rattling shots?the first being a crunching right that started the Argentinian on his way. A sweeping left finished the job. Upon rising, Brizuela seemed ready to continue, but Grey saw something in his eyes that said otherwise and waived off the action. Brizuela did not protest the stoppage
Both warriors held each other?s hands up in a gesture of great sportsmanship as an appreciative crowd stood as one and roared its approval. They had just witnessed something special?something Michael Katsidis and-Graham Earle achieved in 2007 and Jamie Moore and-Matthew Macklin did in. 2006. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWe1-Ktr8rI
The Future
Brizuela went on to beat Jorge Samuel Fredes in July and is now scheduled to fight undefeated Luke Campbell in?of all places?Hull Arena on October 25 , 2014 with the vacant WBA Inter-Continental lightweight title up for grabs.
As for Tommy Coyle, he won a dominant 8-rounder over Ghanaian Michael Ansah (9-3-2) in May. He is scheduled to fight the once all-action brawler from Down Under, Michael ?The Great? Katsidis (30-6), on the same card at the Hull Arena on October 25.
This could be another barn burner, but given Katsidis?s history of scarring on the brain, this could also be an accident waiting to happen. Sure, Katsidis has had success against Brit opponents in the past (sans Ricky Burns) and he recently battered a totally shot Graham ?The Duke Of? Earle in Australia in a rematch of their iconic February 7, 2007 battle in Wembley Arena. But that was then and this is now and Tommy Coyle is no Earle.
