BRANDON GLANTON got back to winning ways in Lagos, Nigeria, forcing Marcus Browne to retire on his stool after a particularly punishing sixth round.
The two cruiserweights squared off yesterday evening in what was considered a 50/50 contest, headlining an Amir Khan Promotions card, but it was Glanton’s effective come-forward style that ultimately prevailed.
In the end, the difference in fitness levels seemed to represent the most telling factor, even if their early exchanges signalled that a vastly different affair was likely to unfold.
It was a neat and tidy opening round from Browne, 25-3 (16 KOs), who nullified his opponent’s aggression with his sharper feet, always finding an exit out of the pocket.
In the second session, though, Glanton, 21-3 (18 KOs), managed to pin his man up against the ropes and began to unload a more promising body attack on the inside.
To his detriment, Browne then opted to trade with the dogged bruiser at close quarters, seemingly feeling the pace after having spent more than two years out of the ring.
Sensing this, Glanton began to up the intensity in the fifth-round, looking to manhandle the fatigued 34-year-old whenever he attempted to initiate a clinch.
‘Bulletproof’ then rained in a series of thudding hooks in the following visit, his early pressure now paying dividends as he refused to give Browne even a second of respite.
The former light-heavyweight contender, to his credit, did fire back every so often, but it was Glanton who began to parade around the ring, jumping for joy, shortly after Browne’s corner pulled their man out of the contest.
“I told you that boy was going to quit; I told you,” the 33-year-old said in his post-fight interview, moments after he offered to run it back with Browne in a rematch over 12 rounds.
But regardless of what comes next, Glanton will doubtless be delighted with his performance after losing a unanimous decision to Chris Billam-Smith in April.
