Cornelius Bundrage vs Sechew Powell
ST. CHARLES, Mo.–Here it is folks, the real reason we made the trek from D.C. to the heartland tonight: 12 rounds for the IBF junior middleweight championship between titlist Cornelius “K9” Bundrage of Detroit and Brooklyn’s Sechew Powell. The picture above is Bundrage receiving some last minute instructions from trainer Emmanuel Steward before his ring walk.
Powell knocked Bundrage out in one round back in 2005, though K9 has made a lot of progress since then culminating in his KO of Cory Spinks last August to win the belt. The 38-year-old is likely hoping for one more big payday in the form of a unification bout against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Miguel Cotto if he can win tonight. But Powell is actually the higher-rated fighter by Ring Magazine and has proven he has K9’s number.
We’re not going to pretend that we’re unbiased in a fight featuring Stiff Jab favorite Bundrage (or any Michigan native), but we’ll do our best to score it fairly. Round-by-round updates after the jump:
Round 1: Both men come up out cautiously, understandable for K9 considering what happened in their last fight. Both appear to be in good shape, Bundrage is a little bit thicker while Powell is slightly taller. Powell fighting southpaw gets caught with a straight right from K9. Bundrage lands a couple hard rights on the belt-line before the bell to snare the opening round.
Round 2: Bundrage is the older man but it’s Powell who appears sluggish to start this fight. Not much to note in that round, we’ll score it for K9 thanks to a combination he unleashed while Powell was on the ropes. 20-18 Bundrage.
Round 3: Crowd is starting to get antsy as these two have still not really gotten into this fight. Clash of heads as they both attempt lead hooks at the same time. Bundrage is doing a good job staying busy in the clench but the ref warns him for hitting behind the head.
Powell trying to land his straight left more while Bundrage is looking to get inside and make this an ugly fight. Cornelius comes in behind a lead left hook that lands cleanly and they are tied up on the ropes pounding each other. Ref warns Bundrage for a low blow that seemed legal. 30-27 Bundrage.
Round 4: Bundrage is winning these rounds so it’s hard to complain about his approach but he seems to be loading up for a big right hand. He’s got Powell against the ropes again and using his free right hand to score. Powell’s reluctance to engage is baffling.
Ref warns Bundrage for some inexplicable reason and the crowd boos loudly. The ref seems to favor Powell. Powell lands a couple strong lefts before the bell that appear to stun Cornelius. The crowd is just happy that a fight may break out. 39-37 K9.
Round 5: Neither man really wants to take the lead. Their last fight featured a double knockdown so both have enough power to floor the other man, but this is getting tedious. Powell starting to use that longer reach to score from the outside. Bundrage needs to get inside more and brawl.
Bundrage catches Powell with a counter left hook and follows up with a straight right that lands flush. That punch may have stolen the round for K9. 49-46 Bundrage.
First boos from the crowd are quickly replaced by whistles of appreciation for the ring card girl, who does look a bit wholesome for the position.
Round 6: The ref is inserting himself into this fight way too often and the savvy St. Louis crowd doesn’t appreciate it. Bundrage a little marked on his right eye but he keeps coming forward. Powell spends too much time with his back on the ropes where the shorter man has the advantage. Powell fights his way off with a left uppercut and a straight left. Give that round to Powell. 58-56 Bundrage.
Round 7: Powell comes out and lands a straight left but doesn’t follow up. Bundrage is starting to get caught with those wide, looping shots. Powell is having some success counter-punching but he isn’t pressing when he gets an advantage and keeps letting K9 off the hook. Score another slow round for Powell. 67-66 Bundrage.
Round 8: Bundrage needs to put more weight behind his jab because he’s getting caught coming in behind it. The two are trading in the corner and Powell catches K9 with a left that stuns him briefly. K9 doesn’t show enough lateral movement and makes it easy to find his head with the gloves.
But he’s also throwing some solid shots of his own, clearly looking for a knockout. Big right from K9 followed by another and a shot to the body. Simultaneous left hooks just before the bell land but Powell’s seemed to hurt more. Sechew wins another round, fight is even after 8.
Round 9: Just commented to my neighbor that Bundrage has come in with a sound strategy and is doing his best to employ it, but he’s up against a worthy foe. His heavy rights are not having the same impact on Powell they did on Cory Spinks. In contrast Powell’s punches all seem to leave an impression when they land. Late flurry by Bundrage helps him secure the round. 86-85 Bundrage.
Round 10: We’re getting into deep waters now; Bundrage looks slightly gassed while Powell seems strong. Bundrage backs him into the corner and lands another straight right. Powell would be winning this fight going away if he would just throw more punches.
Bundrage appears to be losing steam but comes back with a nice left-right combo that lands. K9 breathing heavily through his mouth. Bundrage leads with a jab and lands a left hook behind it. Powell may be bigger and stronger but K9 wants it more. He leads 96-94 on our cards.
Round 11: Bundrage again lands his straight right and perhaps it’s Powell that hasn’t got much left. He’s inexplicably slowed the pace in the past two rounds after seeming to gain control of the fight. He’s trying to get back into it now but K9 seems more confident and is coming forward.
Powell is not using his jab anymore, going for lead left hands instead. He is landing but that should give K9 an opening to time him coming in, which Bundrage does right on cue. Ref warns him again for no reason. Powell must think he’s ahead because he doesn’t look like he’s trying to win. K9 lands a late combo punctuated by an uppercut and wins the round. 106-103 Bundrage.
Round 12: Championship round and this is a close if slightly ugly fight. Bundrage should be up but you never know in the fight game until the scores are announced. A knockdown could change things as well. Powell comes out and lands a big left right off the bat.
Bundrage sticking with the jab, he he wins that will be a big reason why. Powell’s attack is a little too predictable - basically just straight lefts, sometimes behind the jab but not often enough. He needs to do something special in this final round by our count and he doesn’t seem like he’s aware of that fact. Bundrage is still active, he can sense the end is near and doesn’t want to give away this final stanza.
Someone needs to tell Powell that if he loses this fight he won’t be getting another title shot any time soon. Bundrage unleashes a flurry on the ropes and scores with a few of the shots. The bell sounds and Powell lets go of a low blow on K9, drawing boos form the crowd. Final round was close but we’ve got Bundrage winning the fight 115-113.
Judges give it to Bundrage by unanimous decision 115-113, 119-109 and 117-111. Good work by K9. Most ringside observers feel like K9 won and by a fairly comfortable margin. We were probably a little harsh on him scoring-wise actually in fear of appearing overly partisan. Here’s hoping Bundrage’s next fight will either be in Michigan or on national TV so we can save the plane fare.