“I’m just really excited and looking forward to putting on a great show like I always do”, said Selby, who tipped the scales at 125.8lbs at this afternoon’s weigh-in, Montiel lighter at 125.6lbs. Selby’s right eye was swollen and an angry red by the 8th.
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But he’ll have to get past the 36-year-old Montiel, whose record of 54-4-2 with 39 knockouts includes eight victories in a row at junior feather and featherweight. Montiel’s confidence picked up from there, and in the sixth he was more aggressive, grabbing the momentum and cutting Selby in the process. Where Montiel goes from here is completely up to him and his team but the options should be vast and he will not likely be written off and overlooked as in the past. He is unbeaten in his last eight outings – three inside the distance – and certainly Selby could have been given a much easier first defence of his IBF crown.
Selby finds himself in a division among the most exciting in boxing with Gary Russell Jr, Santa Cruz and the explosive Ukrainian Lomachenko all holding world belts and he feels Montiel offers a fast route to recognition in America.
You can’t say that all of those fighters were unavailable for this fight, can you?
The win for Selby left a lot of questions about whether he’ll be able to handle the better fighters in the featherweight division if/when his promoter Eddie Hearn puts him in against the better fighters. It’s not because Selby is great, but rather the tiny Montiel doesn’t belong in this division in my view. Before I was champion, I thought I’d be a marked man when I was champion and everyone would want to fight me.
There was a major upset on the bill as American welterweight Devon Alexander suffered a unanimous points loss against the unheralded Mexican Aaron Martinez.
Martinez won by scores of 96-94, 97-93, 97-93.
“But I believe I am the best featherweight out there and I’ve got to show that”.
Alexander will need to bring his A-game tonight if he wants to beat Martinez becaue this is going to be a really tough affair. Those were both winnable fights for him if he had used the right fight strategy in both bouts. Was that because my timing was off or because he was so good at getting out the way? He’s a tricky fighter and can box or fight on the front foot. What we saw instead was Alexander standing stationary and letting Porter bull him to the ropes and work over.
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The Welshman is a huge favourite with the layers and bwin’s 1/19 is the best price available on him to win the fight, although he is as short as 1/33 in places. That was how I got the win. Without doubt the unification fights are going to come.
