Jim Watt says that Jamie Moore can see off Ryan Rhodes and show he is a serious world-title contender...
Rhodes leads to Moore facing WBC champ Martinez, says Jim
We're in the middle of a tremendous run of match-ups on
Sky Sports just now and this is the latest tasty, meaningful match-up.
Maybe last week's didn't quite live up to expectation because Jason Booth was just too good for Michael Hunter, but this has all the makings of a classic - it really has to be a good fight.
I'll say from the start that I fancy Jamie Moore strongly, even though he is up against an excellent fighter in Ryan Rhodes. Timing of fights is so important and for me, that is going to be a big factor in Bolton.
Moore had been left hanging around for a long time waiting for that European title clash and was involved in plenty of marking time fights. He could easily have lost some enthusiasm and it's a credit to his professionalism that he didn't and throughout that time his performances were all good.
His head is obviously in order and he's always been tough to beat anyway, but as soon as he got his chance and beat Michele Piccirillo to become European champion, you sensed Jamie Moore was on the move.
He's good at just about everything in the game; attack, defence, counter-punching, whatever's needed to win - and whatever sort of fighter he has come up against, he has coped well with.
The one thing that was missing was a sense of purpose and direction, but that's not the case any longer. Now he has some momentum and a world title in his sights.
Sharpen
Rhodes on the other hand, has had his chance at world level but came up short, although he is still performing well, domestically at least. Moore though, needs to win this and then really move up, because although this is for the European title, it is effectively a best of Britain contest.
It's bang out of order that the WBC have made Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr the number one challenger to champion Sergio Martinez, although in the lad's defence, I haven't heard him or his people banging the drum for a shot at the champion. It's just as well, because he's not ready.
Whether Jamie Moore is or not, I don't think matters. I don't see any point in holding him back after this because he's not going to sharpen his tools any more fighting domestic rivals; he needs to be fighting the very best. I have a feeling that he will get a lot better when he does get his opportunity at the highest level as well.
Martinez is a tough champion, who is not easy to fathom and is difficult to beat.
But then again, Jamie poses his own problems as well. He's not a straightforward fighter himself; he knows all the tricks and as we have seen on the couple of occasions when he has had to grind out results, he has the experience. He might not go in as favourite against Martinez, but he has as good a chance as anybody.
That's not to dismiss Rhodes in this one, though. He is a worthy challenger who will try and make life as uncomfortable as he can for the champion. He knows he cannot stand and trade with Moore, but that might suit him.
He trained with the Ingles in Sheffield with Naseem Hamed, but he is not your typical Ingle fighter.
Characteristics
His balance is not all over the place and he doesn't throw punches from all sorts of crazy angles - although he can dig - but he does have those other characteristics. He has the good defensive reflexes and quick thought and it might be that it takes Moore a few rounds to gain control.
But I do expect him to get on top and I can see him being far too strong for Rhodes the longer the fight goes on. Just because he is slightly fresher and on the way up, I think he will come through this. And I do think it will be good while it lasts.
It needs to be from Moore's perspective because when you're on the verge of a world title and it's no longer a dream but almost reality, you want to go into that one fight with 100 per cent confidence in your talent, no doubts at all in your mind.
Like I say, this is really about who is the best in Britain, so he doesn't want to struggle here and then have Frank Maloney pushing his world title claims to the WBC.
I don't think he needs to stop Rhodes - although he might well - he just needs a convincing victory; if it goes to points it can't be a split decision, there can't be any doubt who won the fight.
Jamie Moore needs to prove he is the best in Britain and the best in Europe. If there's no question of that, then we can all see if he's the best in the world.
