MAGNIFICENT 7 SHINES AGAIN!

THE MAGNIFICENT 7 series once again came up trumps on Saturday, delivering in a big way from start to finish.

For real boxing fans, the Mag 7 is some sort of boxing utopia, a veritable feast of fights where watching one leaves you hungry for more. This one at the fantastic Co-op Live in Manchester satisfied even the mightiest appetite and the positive feedback we have received about the event is greatly appreciated.

But it is the fighters, of course, who deliver the thrills and massive moments and there were some express deliveries in at the Co-op with some spectacular early finishes.

To start from the top, Moses Itauma has proved himself to be an absolutely natural headline attraction at just 21 years of age.

I actually think this young man has got it all and it is hard to think of a fighting attribute he doesn’t possess. Size, speed, skill, power, accuracy, athleticism, to name some that immediately spring to mind.

Without wanting this to sound like a blatant promotional plug, I really recommend watching him live in person and up close to truly comprehend the magnitude of the talent we are lucky enough to be watching.

Moses is that good and, even after just 14 fights and not that many as an amateur, there is hardly anyone I wouldn’t put him in with now. There is no need to rush into anything for the sake of it though. The best thing for Moses now - and us as boxing fans - is to just keep him fighting and give more and more people the chance to be part of the journey.

The WBO have installed Moses at No.1 and I believe the WBA will do likewise, which will make it easier when it comes to forcing a world title shot. In the shorter term the plan is to get Moses back out in July and to build on his performance against Jermaine Franklin Jr.

Credit to Franklin, he did what we hoped he would do and that was to provide some resistance and give Moses something to think about. We knew he was a tough customer and nobody’s fall guy. And so it proved.

Moses has made another statement and it is interesting to see that leading fighters from across the world, particularly in the US, are sitting up and taking notice now.

Elsewhere on the card we saw a terrific performance from Willy Hutchinson in his defeat of Ezra Taylor. Willy is a gifted talent and we have always known this, but it hasn’t always been a straight road where his career is concerned because he hasn’t always been completely switched on.

Now he is totally dedicated to his craft and he will get his rewards, although when he is demonstrating a gulf in class or ability in a fight, I would like to see him try and force the issue a bit more and close the show.

This is what the top, top fighters do and it is what separates them.

Liam Davies was brilliant in becoming a two-weight European champion by bullying the tough Francesco Grandelli. Liam really looks the part now at featherweight and there are some cracking matches to be made there that can hopefully have a world title attached to them.

Brad Pauls proved the old adage that it ain’t over til it’s over in his middleweight showdown with Shakiel Thompson. We’ve always rated and been very fond of Brad through our dealings with him across his fights with Nathan Heaney and Denzel Bentley.

He is a lovely lad and, in the ring, he is one of those Old School fighters who always entertains win or lose. He reminds me a bit of Mark Kaylor in that way.

Anyway, he was likely well behind against Shakiel but, from ringside, I just had a hunch that he could pull something out and turn the tables. I am very happy for him and it couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke.

Shakiel will knuckle down, improve and come again. He doesn’t need to worry about taking a loss and, if he needs reminding of this, he only has to take a look at the other middleweights like Denzel, Nathan and Brad, who have far from had it all their own way.

Talking of Nathan, it looks like he is getting close to calling time on what has been a magical middleweight ride over the last few years. The following he has enjoyed is a measure of the man. You don’t take thousands of people out of your home city to watch you if you are not an absolute gent who people easily relate to.

I, for one, will never forget his emotion and unbridled joy when he became British champion and it is that sort of thing that makes this all worthwhile for me.

Nathan is talking about having another fight in Stoke and I am sure his people will give him the wonderful send-off he so deserves.