Fighter of the Week (3/3-3/9): Mark Chamberlain
On a PPV fight week, this Fighter of the Week award is typically reserved for a mega name. However, that's not the case this week as young, rising superstar prospect the 25-year-old Mark "Thunder" Chamberlain was supposed to be challenged in a big step-up fight for him on the undercard of Joshua vs Ngannou. Chamberlain, of Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK annihilated rugged veteran Gavin Gwynne over four one-sided rounds before getting the stoppage and moving his record to 15-0 (11), getting the biggest win of his career and passing his biggest test with flying colors and capturing his first ever " Fighter of the Week Award."
Chamberlain entered the ring in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, against Gavin Gwynne of Treharris, Wales, with plenty of eyes on him and in need of a career-best performance on his career's biggest stage. "Thunder" delivered exactly that as a left hand from the southpaw scored above the right eye of Gwynne and caused a cut and some swelling around the eye of the Welshman. With just over a minute left in the opening stanza. Chamberlain scored with an uppercut that caught the attention of Gwynne. Chamberlain followed up with a few more accurate power shots that put his opponent in a temporary daze. 45 seconds into the third, a straight left again buckled the rugged veteran as the Portsmouthian could not miss. Just past the midway point, Gwynne was badly buzzed again from another straight left from the southpaw. With 24 seconds left in the fourth, Chamberlain landed a big left hook that rattled his man. Chamberlain put together a 10-second rally of power shots that brought referee Howard Foster to step in to stop the contest. Giving Chamberlain his 15th career victory and 11th by way of stoppage in 15 pro bouts.
Chamberlain is stock on the rise, and the win over the Welshman, combined with his previous win over Artjoms Ramlavs, has him trending in the world-class direction. His next opponent and Chamberlain says he wants to be back in the summer, there are good fights for him. A test with a tough guy like Gary Cully or Oscar Durate would be an intriguing step up fight, as would a fight with Jo Jo Diaz. Jon Fernandez is also coming off an impressive win over a former world champ in Spain. Fernandez would also be an interesting crossroads fight as well.
