Apochi wants rematch with Glanton

By Akeem Lawal

NIGERIAN boxer Efetobor Apochi, says he wants immediate rematch with Brandon Glanton after losing to the American boxer in their WBA cruiserweight title eliminator tagged ‘Fight of The Unbeatens’ at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Sunday night.

 

Apochi (11-1, 11 KOs) suffered his first professional defeat in the hands of Glanton (14-0, 11 KOs) by split decision in their 10-round bout, after occupying a high position in the ranking in the cruiserweight division.

 

Glanton scored a knockdown to close out the sixth stanza as Apochi fell into the ropes. That knockdown proved the difference as judge Nelson Vazquez scored the bout 96-93 for Apochi, but was overruled by judges Mike Fitzgerald and John Mariano who both scored the contest 95-94 for Glanton.

 

“What can I say?” asked Apochi. “I thought I won the fight. I used my jab, showed some heart, had some good movement in there, but I’m not the judges. I don’t know what they saw, but I thought that I did what I had to do. He’s a tough guy. I won’t take anything away from him. He took some tough shots and he was still there.”

 

On the possibility of a rematch, Apochi, now based out of Houston and trained by Ronnie Shields, said, “Of course, I want a rematch with Glanton. I want a rematch with him right now!”

Glanton believes it will be much easier should there be a rematch.

 

“I knew it was a close fight because at the very end he didn’t hurt me, but I staggered,” said Glanton. “We always talk about balance in the gym, though. I got the split decision because balance is something that we constantly work on. He didn’t hurt me, that’s why I was able to keep fighting.

 

“Thank God the judges saw it the right way,” continued Glanton. “That knockdown is something we worked on in the gym. I hope the boxing world sees what my coach is doing. The small details, the intricate things, make the difference in a fight like this. All the little details that he schools me on is what he told me would be the difference in this fight, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t.

 

“If they want the rematch, then I’ll do it again. I think I’ve proven what I needed to prove, but it’s easier the second time.”