National sport: Blood, sweat and big punches

JOHANNESBURG. – Saturday December 8 will be forever remembered as the night Thabiso Machunu revived his boxing career at Emperors Palace when he defeated Tommy Oosthuizen in their ABU and SA Cruiserweight title fight.

The evenening saw five fights with Tebogo Makwala and Ricardo Malajika battling it out in the curtain raiser. The Heaveyweight fight  between Warren Le Roux and Keaton Gomes sparked things.

Le Roux was game for the match, but Gomes’ punches had sting and when the end came in the third – via TKO – Le Roux had no complaints.

Bout 3 – WBA Pan African and SA Middle Weight: Walter Dlamini vs Wade Groth

The result was a brutal first-round knockout that validated Dlamini’s claims as a worthy challenger and exposed Groth’s inability to cover up and move when his championship depended on it

Bout 4 – IBO Welterweight Title: Miquel Vasquez vs Thulani Mbenge

IBO welterweight champion Thulani Mbenge took his time before dismantling the challenge of Mexico’s Miguel Vazquez in the first defence of his championship.

The South African started hot, coasted through the middle rounds and then dropped the bomb in the ninth with a sickening body shot that signalled the end of Vasquez’s energetic challenge. Vazquez made it through the round, but decided that discretion was the better part of valour and opted not to come out of his corner for the 10th.

Bout 5 – ABU and SA Cruiserweight Title: Thabiso Mchunu vs Tommy Oosthuizen

Mchunu led on the scorecards after the first four, continued his dominance after eight (80-72, 79-73, 79-73) and wrapped it up with a dominant trifecta: 119-109, 118-111, 119-111.