Fansided

Miguel Berchelt defends title against unworthy Maxwell Awuku

By Jeremy Herriges

WBC World Super Featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt smiles after defeating Japan's Takashi Miura by unanimous decision to retrain his title, July 15, 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
WBC World Super Featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt smiles after defeating Japan's Takashi Miura by unanimous decision to retrain his title, July 15, 2017 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt defends his title against late replacement Maxwell Awuku. Substitute fighters are usually weak, but Awuku might be the most unworthy boxer to challenge for a title in some time.

Maxwell Awuku is a super featherweight boxer from Ghana. On paper, he has a nice record of 44-3-1, with 30 knockouts. However, once you closely study his record, it quickly becomes clear that he has no business fighting Miguel Berchelt for the WBC super featherweight title.

Berchelt is a blood and guts warrior. He vaulted to the top of the super featherweight division in 2017 when he knocked out Francisco Vargas in the 11th round. Vargas was undefeated at the time, but Berchelt put on a clinic against Vargas.

Vargas retreated for much of the fight and had nothing left toward the end. The referee saved him from taking any more punishment.

Berchelt followed up his victory against Vargas with a unanimous decision over Takashi Miura. Berchelt seemed poised to battle for more super featherweight titles, but he badly damaged his right hand against Miura. His injury caused him to miss the remainder of 2017.

In late December, Berchelt was planning to meet Cristian Mijares for his return bout, but business plans fell apart. It was announced in late January that Carlo Magali would replace Mijares. He was shot down because the Philippines’ Games and Amusement Board thought it unwise to let him fight twice in under a month, reported BadLeftHook.com.

Apparently, Berchelt’s team didn’t have many options because they signed a deal to fight an undeserving opponent in Maxwell Awuku. They fight on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Awuku’s last three opponents have a combined record of 29-41. He doesn’t fight high-caliber opposition.

The only notable name that Awuku has fought is Daud Yordan. He lost to Yordan by unanimous decision in 2015.

Awuku is a 15-year professional that has never challenged for a major title until now. He’s so far away from being a championship tier boxer that Boxrec.com has him rated as the 105th super featherweight in the world. It is unfathomable that the WBC, one of the most respected sanctioning bodies in boxing, is allowing a boxer outside of the top 100 to challenge for a title. That’s ludicrous.

Next: The greatness of Roy Jones Jr.'s boxing legacy

Ghana has produced many magnificent boxers like Azumah Nelson and Ike Quartey. Maxwell Awuku will never be on their level. It’s wonderful that Berchelt and his team want to put on a fight for his fans, but it’s a travesty that the WBC is allowing its title to be on the line against such poor opposition.

Awuku has an amazing opportunity but at the expense of the WBC’s reputation. If Awuku is somehow able to defeat Berchelt, then it would be hard to remember a bigger upset in boxing history.

There are only so many Cinderella stories in boxing, and Awuku will most likely not be one of them. Berchelt will get to test out his hand against a man who is probably not qualified to be his sparring partner. This might be the worst matchup of 2018.

Home/Boxing