This is a nice fight which should be competitive. Maclntyre should be the slight favourite as he’s the natural 140 pounder who has also had more notice while Ellis is taking this fight on short notice. Both have had a few competitive fights where they haven’t looked the best and this is a fight where the winner will get the backing of MTK while the loser goes down to area level.
Maclntyre is tall for the weight class but doesn’t really use his height that well as he falls in with his punches. He sets most of his stuff up with his jab (which isn’t very powerful) and loves to throw 1-2’s again and again. He also sticks his jab in his opponents face and keeps it there before throwing a punch to the body. He only really throws combinations when his opponent is on the ropes from the footage I’ve watched. I do like how much he goes to the body but I think he needs to add more variation to his punching as he’s very predictable. I don’t think his defence is great as he keeps his head on the center line constantly and also has his hands quite low so it’s easy for people to counter him. I’ve watched him get countered by Journeymen who didn’t have to work hard to hit him. He also pulls back in straight lines so any pressure fighter won’t have any trouble finding him with their punches.
Ischmael Ellis is 11-2 and coming off a loss though it was a close fight. He has a decent jab though from what I’ve seen it doesn’t land on his opponents all that often. When he wants to go on the offence he jumps in and throws a few hooks before getting out of range. The majority of the time he’s stood just outside of punching range waiting for something to happen. I don’t like how much he waits and how inactive he is in between small bursts of punches. I don’t think he’s particularly hard to hit though he does normally keeps his hands relatively high which is a good sign. The problem is when he rushes in his chin is high in the air and if he gets countered by a good shot I can see him being knocked down or even knocked out.
I think Craig Maclntyre will win this fight due to being the taller and more active man who is used to fighting at 140 pounds. I also think that he’ll be able to establish his jab and land his 1’2’s throughout the fight. He may get caught pulling out as he does pull straight back and Ellis likes to rush in but Ellis lacks the power to hurt him. Ellis also doesn’t do these marauding charges forward enough to steal the 5 rounds he needs to win this fight. Maclntyre will win by decision though it will be competitive.
Boxing Fulcrum 