By Michael Collins: You’ve got to feel for #2 WBA, #5 WBO, #15 WBC, Gavin Rees (37-1-1, 18 KO’s) right now because he’s someone that is going to demolished this Saturday night against WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner (25-0, 21 KO’s) unless Rees can come up with a big knockout punch to win. Other than a winning by a knockout, Rees simply doesn’t have the skills to compete against the faster and better skilled Broner.
Rees is at a disadvantage in every sense that you could think of for this fight, and really thing he can try to do is go out there and look for a knockout. I’m hoping that Rees’ trainer has told him this because if he goes into the fight on Saturday looking to out-box Broner at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, then Rees is going to get knocked out quick.
Rees has been out of it for so long in terms of him fighting against world class opposition, and it’s like he’s someone that’s been retired for the past five years because that’s how long it’s been since he fought a world class opponent. Rees was knocked out by Andriy Kotelnik in the 12th round in March 2008, and that’s started a five year run where he’s beaten a combination of domestic and European level opposition to get to where he’s at now.
Five years with no quality opposition and here he is about to face the best fighter in the lightweight division in the 23-year-old Broner. You tell me who you think will win that fight. It’s really a sickening mismatch on paper, and unless Rees goes berserk on Broner in an all-out assault on Saturday night in the early rounds, we’re going to see Rees picked up off the canvas and trotted out of the arena early.
Rees doesn’t see himself as just another easy opponent for Broner, and he thinks he’s been overlooked. Well, if that’s the case then Rees is going to have to prove everyone wrong by going after Broner to show people that he’s not just a fighter with an inflated record.
Rees did not look good in his last two fights against Anthony Mezaache and Derry Mathews. Those were tough fights for Rees, and they should have been easy ones for him if he was a true world class talent.