Brodie Goes Out on His Shield

By Terence "One Punch" Dooley


Last night the long, event - ridden journey of Michael Brodie’s world - title quest came to a poignant and sudden end at the hands of Scott Harrison. It is a shame for Brodie that he never got the title win his talent richly deserved but he can take comfort from the fact that he went out after a third round semi - comeback that epitomized the fighting spirit, mixed with no small amount of skill, that has defined his career. Unlike many of his British peers Brodie sacrificed the vagaries of a spurious title reign in favour of pursuing the best possible belts and opponents he could in order to define himself as a true champion. Unfortunately the tilt at Harrison came a good two years too late for Michael and he was unable to build on the inroads he forged in this brief but thrilling contest. In the end Harrison was a just winner whilst Brodie headed into retirement without the belt, any major belt, he so desperately craved and deserved.

From the opening round it became clear that Michael was facing a difficult task, this was the first time I’d seen him in the flesh since the first Chi fight and I could not help but think of how much those battles with the Korean had damaged Michael. After some fierce early pressure from Scott my suspicion was that Brodie was going to be hopelessly outgunned in this his final hurrah. Some solid punching from Harrison coupled with his natural strength had Michael on the back foot from the very beginning; this solid pressure from Harrison was punctuated by a solid right high on the temple that had Michael seriously hurt for the final minute of the first round. Harrison was in the ascendancy and I was beginning to fear the worst as the Scot was not only hitting Michael with hard shots but was throwing the smaller man around like a doll. Relying on his huge heart Michael threw back what he could but was even out - punched after the bell by the sneering champion and it seemed to me that an early stoppage was on the cards.

However by the time round two was underway Michael had made the decision that he would not fight on the retreat and be beaten easily instead he went on the offensive showing that Harrison may have had the physical edge but in terms of talent it was Brodie that could pick the better punches. Ironically it was Brodie showing some good body work in this second round as he decided to stand in front of the stronger man and utilize his faster hands. It was still evident though that Harrison was simply too big, too strong and it was his blows that carried the greater steam, Harrison in recent years has seemed to accept his stylistic limitations and relies on his superior strength as well as his phenomenal fitness; this seems to have sent him back as a fighter though. Harrison continued to fire at Brodie probably safe in the knowledge that in this type of fight he was going to prevail, solid rights and the occasional jab from Harrison was piercing the porous Brodie defense almost at will. Michael lost the round but in taking Scott on at his own game, as well as recovering from the spaghetti legs moment in round one he had at least served notice that he was not completely faded. As he went back to his corner at the end of this round Brodie was staring into the abyss of a final decisive defeat, yet for a man who has had such a distinguished European career there was still one final stand left in him.

The third round for me encapsulates why Brodie has been so loved by his fans all these years, other men may get the followers in greater numbers but Brodie has been rallied through career crisis after crisis by the fans who truly understand his real worth. In the third this worth was evident as incredibly Brodie started to gain in - roads on Harrison, Michael started to back Harrison up a little with his bursts of quality punching. For a few minutes this was the Harrison that had looked so ordinary just lately and on one or two occasions he even looked slightly hurt and confused by the shots coming his way. Michael seemed to be shaking off those fourteen months away from the ring and briefly, incredibly a miracle seemed on the cards; a final reward for a decent man and fighter. As Harrison was made to look ordinary Michael continued to put better punching together backed by a crowd that was sensing a shift in the fights pattern, body shots went in followed up by little cuffing hooks around the head of Harrison but the champion kept coming back and bearing down on the smaller man. This round was like the first Chi fight revisited for Brodie and it must have taken a huge effort for him to put his shots together. Although a good round for Michael the body shots Harrison was driving in, coupled with unnoticed low - blows, must have been hurting Brodie especially considering he had not taken punches in anger for over a year. Right at the rounds end a body shot went in that made Brodie sag a little after the bell, Harrison noticed this and even if he had not noticed the lingering glance from his Scott’s trainer towards Brodie told us that the next round would be vital. Brodie had made a point but what price had he paid in doing this?

We found out early in the decisive round as both men swapped fierce body punching but unfortunately Brodie came of worse, the final decisive blow took all the wind out of his sails and it was academic whether or not he beat the count. Harrison had spotted a weakness and had finally worked some combinations that contained more than the arm punches he had tried to finish Michael off with in the first round. That final withering body attack stopped the Brodie revival, his final gesture of defiance in beating the count was an academic one but one that spoke volumes about the man and the fighter. In taking that third round and beating the count Brodie ensured that his career end was bitter sweet, he went out fighting as best he could against great odds and for a brief moment had made us believe that finally this was his night. Harrison did what was asked of him after seeing the pain Brodie was in after the third and took his victory well, it was a victory forged in the superior strength and conditioning of the tough Scot but still leaves doubts over his ability to beat the elite at featherweight. A tough fight had ended less than a minute into the fourth round, for Brodie it would prove to be his final swansong and the last throw of the title dice.

Scott will go onto fight Marquez, if he desires to be the best at featherweight he needs to remember that conditioning and natural strength are great attributes but that if he allows his skills to come third best to these attributes he will be cruelly exposed by another Mexican. For Brodie it is the end of a dignified career in which he tried to do things the right way and forgo the paper crown route, it was a glorious failure of sorts and for me there will always be a place in my heart for this fighter as he really did turn out to be a man that deserved more from boxing. However one cannot dispute the facts and he came up short at the level he shot for, that he shot for this level in the first place speaks volumes about Michael and although other Mancunian fighters carry the greater numbers it was Michael that carried the greater hopes.


Questions Or Comments? Please Contact Terence "One Punch" Dooley