Gavin Rees to Defend Title Against Anthony Mezaache
by Thomas Hill on Feb 22, 2012 7:00 AM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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Gavin Rees is set to defend his European lightweight title against Anthony Mezaache in Paris on March 23, with the fight being shown live on Sky Sports.
Rees, now 31, won the vacant title in June when he defeated Andy Murray in Cardiff. The Welshman's first defence ended up a draw after his opponent Derry Matthews sustained a broken nose after a clash of heads in the fourth round.
Rees' trainer Gary Lockett said:
"Gavin has been in the gym on and off since the Matthews fight. The Gavin Rees of old is long gone, he's grown up a lot and he knows that being out of the gym when you haven't got a fight is not my way. So he's been training hard and he looks in fantastic shape - I wish the fight was this week really as he looks superb. But we will be very ready for March 23rd and it's going to be a great occasion to fight in France.
"Gavin is a different animal today. In the last six months I've been able to get across to him what I want him to do and that's the main challenge when you are a new fighter-trainer team, and Gavin is reaping the benefits now that the communication is perfect. Gavin has slowed himself down and he's working at the pace I want him to."
Back in 2007, Rees won the WBA Lightweight title but faces a bit of a test going to Mezaache's home city of Paris. Mezaache is no stranger to the European belt, having won it previously from Jon Thaxton. The 33-year-old Frenchman claimed the vacant WBA Inter-Continental and IBF International belts in April (at same venue he'll face Rees), and then followed that up with a win there in December which now takes him to 21 wins from 30 fights.
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I don’t know Mezaache at all, and can’t find anything substantial on him more recent than the Thaxton fight.
Just when ideas fail, words crop up.
--- Goethe, Faust
I watched the Thaxton fight live.
Mezaache was (from memory, although I do admit to sometimes merging the Romanov and Mezaache fights in my own mind) slow to start, but came back with a vengeance. He beat Thaxton to the punch at will for the last 4/5 rounds, and the cards were pretty much bang on the money; it was a good, competitive fight which Mezaache clearly won by 2 or 3 rounds.
Haven’t seen anything from him either since then. I thought he was good, and was also a decent fighter to watch, but not a top-drawer fighter.
Thanks, Olbas. I’ll take another look at the Thaxton fight, although I don’t expect that something that long ago will be reflective of Mezaache’s current state, whether that’s goo or bad.
Rees seems to me like an animated cannonball; how do you see this fight?
Just when ideas fail, words crop up.
--- Goethe, Faust
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