Provocation, like it or not, is an integral part of MMA culture. Although the UFC and MMA, in general, have pushed this principle to its peak, English boxing has also had its share of loudmouths, both in and out of the ring.
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One should not deny the importance of this verbal and mental confrontation before the fight, to ‘get into the head’ of the opponent. A fighter like Conor McGregor pushed this to the extreme at the UFC, just like Tyson Fury does in boxing. But these two legends are credible when it comes to this because their performances in the ring or in the octagon can back this up…
A bit overconfident
For Leeds native Tommy Broadbent, this is less so the case! This modest British boxer with a very average record of 8 victories for 6 defeats in the professional arena made a fool of himself during the undercard event of the fight between Daniel Dubois and Nathan Gorman at the O2 Arena in London.
In front of an almost empty arena, Tommy dominated the start of the fight, heading for a tight victory on points. It was at this point that he decided to begin mouthing off at his opponent, the Albanian Florian Marku. Marku remained patient in the face of this provocation, before knocking out his opponent in the final round.
The scene is reminiscent of Frenchman Sabri Sediri’s recent defeat, who was knocked out 10 seconds before the end of his fight against Sam Maxwell, also due to overconfidence...
