Sport
I Hope I’m Making the Island Proud
Matty Rennie continued his unbeaten career on Saturday night, as he won a points victory over James Moorcroft at Bolton’s Toughsheet Stadium.
The Manxman won the eight round contest 77-75 on the judge’s score, sparking celebrations not only in Bolton but on the island where the fight was being streamed in 1886 and The Front Porch.
With Moorcroft winning the first round, Rennie controlled much of the bout, scoring a 5-3 win on the scorecard, though one of them could easily have gone in his favour too.
He said: ‘They gave it as five rounds to three, which is probably right, I don’t know, me and my team thought it was six to two, a lot of people who weren’t actually supporting me, including one who was essentially there as a neutral, thought it was six to two, but we got the win and that’s what counts.
‘But I did feel, I kind of knew at the end, that I had won the fight and our whole team felt like we’d won the fight.’
His opponent is coached by former WBA lightweight champion Anthony Crolla, who said he had also scored the fight in Rennie’s favour.
While the fight was scheduled to be a 10 round bout, a jump from his previous six round fights, it was cut to eight, with Rennie saying he felt ready for the step up and was happy with how his preparation had gone.
He said: ‘If you’re not ready for a 10 rounder, then you’re definitely not going to be ready for eight rounds, so we had no problems with the rounds. I was ready to take the jump from six to 10 but obviously with the late change, it went to an eight, which probably just played into my hands a bit more.’
Throughout the fight, Rennie’s name was the one sung loudest, with him saying that while he only focuses on what his coach is saying to him, but in moments where he ‘felt the tempo of the fight and the heart rate was going up, I could hear the chanting and everyone was singing my name and it just spurred me on’.
Rennie was also very grateful for the support he’s received from home.
He said: ‘A lot of people are now getting behind me and I hope I’m doing the island proud and leading the way if you like, not just for boxing, but sport in general and when I’m back in the Isle of Man and kids see me who may be boxing, but they might be swimming or cycling, or anything else and that makes them think that I want to push on in my sport and I want to breakthrough like this.
‘I am nowhere near the end product yet but I have an idea where I want to be, if I keep going they way I am and I just keep improving and keep working. I’m not the finished article, a lot of goals to achieve and if I keep doing what I’m doing, I believe I’ll get to where I want to be in the sport.’
We will have part two of our interview with Matty Rennie in this week’s Manx Independent, as we discuss his next steps, Manx boxing and the potential for a pro bout on the island and his title ambitions.
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