Megan Redstall Wins The Vacant Commonwealth Bantamweight Title

Megan Redstall Wins The Vacant Commonwealth Bantamweight Title

Megan Redstall has seen big fights with Emma Dolan, Laura Pain, and Maiseyrose Courtney fall by the wayside at the eleventh hour, and despite another nervous build-up, she finally got the reward for her perseverance and no little patience on Sunday night. Redstall claimed the vacant Commonwealth bantamweight title courtesy of a commanding ten-round points victory over the late substitute Consolata Musanga at the Brentwood Centre.

The Kenyan came in late when a hand injury ruled out Maiseyrose Courtney, and weighed in well over the bantamweight limit and therefore wasn’t eligible to win the Commonwealth title herself.

Redstall (7-0-1) deserves immense credit for staying focused when she must have been wondering if history would repeat itself and she would yet again be denied the opportunity to claim that Commonwealth bauble. The unbeaten 24-year-old delivered a dominant performance over an admittedly limited opponent, winning every round clearly. Redstall got the unanimous decision, 100-90 on all three scorecards and can now look forward to some really big nights this year.

In a perfect world, Musanga shouldn’t have been in that Brentwood ring. But sometimes circumstances get in the way. Johnny Clark of Top Tier Promotions saved the night for Redstall when Courtney dropped out with less than two weeks to fight night. The Kenyan was drafted in to replace Courtney, and despite the obvious limitations of Musanga, no real criticism can be attached to the match-up. Boxing rarely runs in straight lines, sometimes you have to adapt and make the best of a bad situation.

Despite the problematic build-up, Redstall boxed superbly. She mixed her work up well, even on the inside, and her switch-hitting and distance control confused Musanga, who had limited success throughout the fight. If you could be critical of Redstall, it was the fact that in the closing rounds, when she was in such total control, you wondered if she could have put the foot down to try and close the show. But Redstall might argue why take the risk when the game plan was working so well. Redstall won comfortably and boxed well within herself. Even considering the limited opponent in front of her, Redstall had the look of a fighter who could go to a much higher level.

But tougher nights do lie ahead for the new Commonwealth bantamweight champion. Laura Pain is rumoured to be fighting for the European title, and if she prevails, a double-title showdown with Redstall could be of interest. If Maiseyrose Courtney still wants to pursue the bantamweight route, and if a British title can be added, then few would complain if a Redstall/Courtney fight is revisited. Tiah-Mai Ayton has fight number five this weekend in Nottingham, and a big summer showdown with Redstall would be a major step-up for both Ayton and Redstall. The options are seemingly plentiful.

But whatever the future holds for Megan Redstall, all the frustrations of the past year or so are now firmly behind her. A major title is now firmly secured, and on the evidence of what we saw in Brentwood, it won’t be the last.