Boxing: World title shot in reach for Kiwi David Light with potential WBO cruiserweight title eliminator
Christopher Reive
When David Light reflects on his recovery from an Achilles tendon injury, he credits the wisdom of Mike Tyson for guiding him through it.
The Kiwi cruiserweight boxer was sidelined in May last year after a competitive shuttle session with some teammates from Auckland’s Peach Boxing stable took a horrible turn. On the final stretch, he heard a “massive crack” when he pushed off and fell to the ground in pain.
“The coach was away helping another guy fighting in Aussie that night, so he was not too happy when we rang him after and told him what we were doing,” Light told the Weekend Herald.
“Shuttles are pretty much out of it now; we still do it as a team but we definitely don’t race.”
Rather than use the recovery period from the injury to take a break, Light was back in the gym after a week — with that week off only coming as he wasn’t allowed to drive.
He was severely limited in what he could do for training, sitting on a box or the side of the ring to hit pads or a bag and working on his mobility in a swimming pool.
Ahead of his WBO cruiserweight title eliminator against unbeaten American Brandon Glanton in Florida today, Light said it proved to be an important practice.
“I took some wisdom from Mike Tyson. He said when he started to go downhill was when he stopped turning up to the gym, so I just made sure, no matter what, I was turning up to the gym,” Light said.
Between the pandemic and his injury, Light was out of action for 18 months, before returning in May this year in emphatic fashion with a first-round knockout against highly touted American Anthony Martinez in Florida.
He followed that up with a second-round knockout win in October to improve his record to 19-0 and earn his place at No 6 in the WBO and No 9 in the IBF cruiserweight rankings.
Today’s bout against Glanton (17-0; 14 KO) shapes as the biggest of his career, with the winner expected to be named the mandatory challenger to Lawrence Okolie’s WBO title.
Glanton is ranked No 7 by the WBO and No 9 by the WBA, and has proven power.
Light, whose amateur career included a Commonwealth Games silver medal, believes he has some important advantages over his athletic opponent.
“I think because we have this fight when all the other (top) cruiserweights are avoiding each other, the WBO said we should be rewarded with a shot. Neither me nor my opponent are thinking about Okolie; we’re just thinking of getting past this. It’s a big test and we have to finish the job if we want to reap the rewards.
“He’s tough, he’s gritty, he packs a big punch and really wants it. But I’ve watched loads of his content on YouTube and I don’t see much of a boxer there.
“You’ve got to have more than all those attributes I just described; you’ve got to have boxing prowess and I just don’t see that in him.”
David Light undercard starts at 3PM, NOT 1PM as previously posted. This is NZ time.
yeah i see that. bugger will miss it gotta go out
Co-main event coming up, Light goes on in about an hour. Sorry you have to go out. I'll let you know what happens. Glanton is a beast, hope Light picks him apart.
Light dropped late, but edges Glanton
In a clash between unbeaten world-rated cruiserweights, WBO #6 David “Great White” Light (20-0, 12 KOs) survived a tenth round knockdown to claim a ten round split decision over WBO #7 Brandon “Bulletproof” Glanton (17-1, 14 KOs) on Friday night at the White Sands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The first nine rounds were close and could have been fought in a phone booth. In round ten, Glanton dropped Light and battered him for the rest of the fight. In the end, however, judges saw it 95-94 for Glanton, and 95-94, 97-92 for Light. Light claimed the WBO International title.
Unbeaten super welterweight Marques Valle (7-0, 6 KOs) won by second round disqualification against Luis Sanchez (9-4, 6 KOs). Sanchez was chased for repeated holding.
Super lightweight Mohamed Soumaoro (12-1, 5 KOs) schooled previously unbeaten Jusiyah Shirley (7-1, 6 KOs) over six rounds. Scores were 60-54, 58-56, 59-55. Shirley had no answer to Soumaoro’s right hand, which landed consistently throughout the fight.
In a clash between unbeaten super lightweights, Kelvin “Night Night” Davis (7-0, 5 KOs) stopped Jalen Hill (5-1, 4 KOs) in round four. Davis dropped Hill in round three and got the TKO in round four when Hill went to a knee citing an injury. Time was 1:31. Kelvin is the older brother of Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis.
Light smothered Glandon the whole fight, with a lot of infighting. Light won the fight by throwing a lot of combos in the clinches but also taking a step back and letting his hands go.
Light was hurt by a body punch, then a right with about 2 minutes to go in the fight. Thru sheer courage, he got up, wobbled, but stayed on his feet and lasted the round.
Neither fighter will beat Okolie, but Light may be the next in line to fight him. Opetaia/Light would be an interesting clash.
David Light Gets Off The Floor, Shocks Brandon Glanton By Split Decision
BY KEITH IDEC
Published Fri Dec 02, 2022, 11:29 PM EST
David Light’s trip halfway around the world was well worthwhile.
The cruiserweight contender from New Zealand scored an upset Friday night by beating Brandon Glanton in their entertaining 10-round elimination match at White Sands Events Center in Plant City Florida. Light (20-0, 12 KOs) took Glanton’s power well until the 10th round, when he was knocked down, displayed craft while working mostly from short distances and out-pointed the previously unbeaten Glanton by split decision in a proverbial phone-booth bout.
Judges Brian Gary (95-94) and Thomas Nardone (97-92) scored their tight fight for Light. Judge James O’Connor scored Glanton a 95-94 winner in this ProBox TV main event.
Light, the WBO’s sixth-rated contender, moved closer to a shot at its junior heavyweight (cruiserweight) champion, Lawrence Okolie (18-0, 14 KOs). Atlanta’s Glanton (17-1, 14 KOs), who was a 3-1 favorite according to DraftKings’ sportsbook, entered the ring ranked seventh by the WBO.
“It feels pretty good,” Light told ProBox TV’s Paulie Malignaggi during his post-fight interview in the ring. “You know, like I always believed in myself. I always knew I had it in me, so it’s good to get that vindication.”
The hard-hitting Glanton and Light landed various clean punches while working almost exclusively on the inside throughout a fast-paced fight that was tough to score. Light explained to Malignaggi that he basically abandoned his jab and fought differently from how he normally boxes because of Glanton’s aggressive style.
“Yeah, well, you know, we were just looking at the kind of opponent that we had and what we had to do to face that kind of opponent, and it worked out in the end,” Light said. “Well, you know, we know that he likes slipping inside the jab. We know that he was expecting that from us. We know that we can stay in there and we can bang just as well as he can. So, I knew that he was gonna try and put the pressure on. I knew I could give it back just as well.”
Glanton clearly sensed that their fight would be close on the scorecards entering the 10th round and unloaded a barrage of power punches in its opening minute. His left to the body eventually sent a fatigued Light to the canvas with just over 1:50 remaining in their bout.
Light answered the count at six and attempted to hold his way toward recovering from that troublesome moment. Glanton later landed a left hook that knocked Light into the ropes with just under 40 seconds on the clock in the 10th round.
Glanton couldn’t drop Light again, however, and their back-and-forth fight went to the scorecards.
A left-right combination by Glanton made Light hold him tightly with just under 50 seconds remaining in the ninth round. Glanton snapped back Light’s head with a right uppercut about 25 seconds later.
An overhand right by Glanton drilled Light and moved him into the ropes with just over a minute to go in the eighth round. Light took a step back and caught Glanton with a left hook at exactly the midway mark of the eighth round.
A right-left combination by Light connected with just under a minute to go in the seventh round. Light landed a right uppercut as Glanton pressed forward with 1:25 to go in the seventh round.
Light landed a straight right just before the bell rang to end the sixth round.
A right uppercut by Glanton snapped back Light’s head with around 1:15 on the clock in the sixth round. Light’s right hand knocked Glanton off balance about 1:05 into the sixth round.
Light’s right to Glanton’s body landed clean with just over 1:45 remaining in the fifth round. Light cracked Glanton with a right hand about 30 seconds later.
Light responded with an overhand right barely 1:20 into the fourth round, just after Glanton connected with a right uppercut. Light’s left uppercut caught Glanton with about 15 seconds on the clock in the fourth round.
Light landed a right and then a left hook with just under a minute to go in the fourth round. With just under 20 seconds on the clock in the fourth, Glanton caught Light with a left hook.
Glanton blasted Light with a straight right as Light backed into the ropes 30 seconds into the second round. Light and Glanton spent much of the remainder of the second round wrestling for position and throwing short shots on the inside.
Light landed a right uppercut with just under a minute to go in the first round. A little less than 30 seconds later, Glanton caught Light with an overhand right.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
Kiwi cruiserweight David Light earns world title fight after split decision win
Stuff sports reporters
New Zealand boxer David Light has earned himself a shot at a world title. (File photo)
Kiwi boxer David Light has earned himself a world title fight after a dramatic split-decision win in Florida on Saturday (NZ time).
The 31-year-old Auckland cruiserweight upset American Brandon Glanton at the White Sands Event Center near Tampa, to secure a mandatory challenge against England’s Lawrence Okolie.
Light, ranked No 6 by the WBO, and Glanton, ranked No 7, were both unbeaten going into the contest, with records of (19-0, 12 KOs) and (17-0, 14 KOs) respectively, and the New Zealander, who claimed silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, had taken on the bout at short notice, having fought just once in the past 23 months – a three-minute job against Anthony Martinez in Florida in April.
And despite slipping to the canvas in the 10th and final round, Light took Glanton’s power well and craftily worked from close range to prevail 97-92, 95-94, 94-95 to set up a title fight which he expects to be in the United Kingdom in March or April next year.
“I thought it was a good fight and I thought I probably wouldn’t get the decision given he was the local, he was their big star and all that,” Light admited to 1News on Sunday (NZT).
“I was happy with my performance and that was all I could do.
“We’ve always had a thing about bullying the bully – to not get pushed around by the bully. He’s used to having people on the back foot, but we stopped him in his tracks and he didn’t know what to do. That’s what we’ve been working on.”
Brandon Glanton: I Clearly Beat Light, I Should Be Facing Okolie Next
BY CHRIS GLOVER
Published Tue Dec 06, 2022, 01:49 PM EST
Brandon Glanton and David Light went toe to toe last Friday evening on ProBox TV, in a fight where many observers felt Glanton edged it out. However, it was Light who went home with the split decision victory.
The WBO has now ordered cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie to make a mandatory defense against Light.
Glanton opened up about the fight whilst giving his brutal assessment of the scorecards.
The Atlanta-based Cruiserweight stated, “I felt I won the fight. David Light is a good fighter, I respect him, but I still feel I won the fight clearly.
“Since the fight there has been online surveys and the honest consensus from knowledgeable and respected figures within the sport and that was that I won the fight.
“I should be looking at a fight with Lawrence Okolie next. I’ve learned some lessons and I know I’ll be back stronger and I know I can compete with the world champions in the future.”
Glanton continued, as he discussed the judging on his loss to Light.
“One judge had it 97-92,” Glanton said. “I just don’t understand how one judge thought I only won two rounds. What was he watching? How do these judges score a fight? Do they not realize catching punches on the gloves and arms isn’t a scoring punch? I simply can’t understand how a judge would see the fight that widely. Something is definitely wrong and judging like this needs addressing as it’s ruining the careers of hard-working fighters.”
ProBox TV CEO Garry Jonas gave his take on Glanton vs Light and his hopes for 2023.
“It was a good fight. It was a close fight. Most people I’ve spoken with felt Brandon won the fight. I think Brandon could have dominated the fight and that’s what happens when you play with your food," Jonas said.
“What Glanton did in the tenth round he could have done in every round, instead he turned it into a phone booth fight. It’s a learning experience, Brandon is a later comer to boxing and he’s got lots to learn. He will back better.
“It was a good fight with two top-rated guys, it was an entertaining top-10 clash that ProBox TV hopes to have more of in 2023. Brandon showed on a night that wasn’t his best that he is on the world level and he’s only going to get better.
Jonas continued, as he dived in on the controversial 97-92 scorecard.
“We have problems with judging in boxing. In the first 9 rounds, one judge had Light up 8 rounds to 1. ProBox TV wants to continue to put on evenly matched fights on ProBox TV, but we need judges to get these fights right in the state of Florida where we operate," Jonas said.
“I think there is an issue with the difference between punches being thrown and punches landing. I don’t think it’s out of the question to suggest some judges don’t know the definition of a scoring punch.”