Gavin Rees v Souleymane M’Baye
Gavin Rees v Souleymane M'Baye
The 27-year-old, whose career looked to be over in 2004 after he was given a year-long ban for knocking out a funeral mourner, completed his rehabilitation with a stunning display.
From the first bell he took the initiative and, irrespective of the sleek skills facing him, dropped few rounds, taking the verdict 110-118, 112-117, 113-117.
Indeed, the early signs were positive for Welsh fans, Rees initiating the action and working a series of quick combinations to the Frenchman’s body, but the champion rarely sniffed danger in either of the first two rounds.
Irrespective, Rees continued to pour in the punches and, despite missing with plenty of them, remained on the front foot while evading M’Baye’s huge range of shots.
It was a pattern that continued for three rounds but M’Baye’s approach was not understated for long.
By the fourth he was landing the telling blows and in the fifth he smiled at Rees’ best flurry while picking him off repeatedly with his left jab.
The sixth and seventh rounds saw the contender crunch M’Baye’s ribs with a relentless surge of body shots but his best delivery, a left hook, clattered into the 32-year-old’s jaw in the eighth.
The next four rounds passed in a similar fashion, the Welshman clearly the superior even in the absence of a big shot and when the verdict came few were surprised.
Rees told ITV Sport: “From the first bell I outpunched him every round. I started to tire towards the end but I had won the first eight rounds.
“I knew I had already won the fight so I knew to keep calm.
“No one expected me to beat him, no one at all. There were massive odds in the bookies everywhere but I told everyone from the start I was going to win.”
Asked if he planned to defend the title for a while, he replied: “For a long time, and maybe gain another one or two.
“There are a lot of good fights now at light-welterweight and a lot of good fights in Britain. I am the world champion.”
