Sam Kynoch says his protege Neil McCubbin will be back a better fighter after suffering his first loss to Matt Windle, and believes there’s much more to come from the young Scotsman.
McCubbin, 5-1 (1), and Birmingham’s Windle, 6-3-1, never stopped throwing punches at each other on June 11 at Sheffield’s Fightzone Arena, with their 12 round war already being mooted as the UK’s ‘Fight of the Year’.
Lively from the first bell, the action was to and fro until the fifth round when ‘Wee Cubby’ was down on his haunches from a tremendous body shot. Up at nine, the 22-year-old battled back well but was just edged out in the championship rounds by his relentless opponent, losing a unanimous verdict.
Originally the pair were supposed to be slugging it out in an eliminator for the Commonwealth Light Flyweight Title but, with that title now obsolete, Kynoch is hoping the contest can be made again in the future, with a belt on the line.
“Neil boxed really well, especially doing 12 rounds for the first time and after such a long layoff. Matt Windle deserved the decision, and came on in the later rounds. I thought Neil was going to stop him in round nine, but Windle came out in rounds 10, 11 and 12 and powered on and won them.
“It was a close fight, one of the judges had it by a single point, and I thought there just a point or two in it. It’s so early in Neil’s career, and it’s a learning curve for him. I’d like to see it again, both as a fan and as Neil’s manager. I knew it would be a good fight from the outset, and it more than lived up to expectations.
“It was a fight that was very much deserving of a title, and if it does happen again then it would need to be for a belt, that would be good for both of them.”
Watch the ‘Fight of the Year’ contender between Matt Windle and Neil McCubbin.
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