BLOOD, SWEAT, TEARS
Flyweight fists fly
IN A woeful fight, Bongani Silila gained some measure of revenge when he forced Luyanda Nkwankwa’s corner to throw in the towel in the 10th round giving him a stoppage win to retain his SA junior flyweight title at the Orient Theatre yesterday.
The bout was a poor advert for SA boxing and the fact that a national title was at stake shows how low the standard of boxing has dipped.
Boxers who previously held the title such as the late Jacob “Baby Jake” Matlala must be turning in their graves when they see the current crop of champions.
Nkwankwa was unfit but he managed to hold his own against the equally poor Silila.
In fact, Nkwankwa’s right hand opened a deep gash on Silila’s eye which bled profusely while his corner tried to stem the flow.
At times the two boxers flailed like young girls in a schoolyard but due to their poor technique, some punches landed although the majority missed horribly.
As the rounds progressed Nkwankwa became more and more fatigued especially when Silila started to hit the body.
The Dispatch was present when Nkwankwa’s promoter warned his trainer not to take the fight because of his fitness.
It all became prophetic as Nkwankwa’s offence ebbed round by round but surprisingly Silila could not find a punch to put him away for good.
Nkwankwa would simply rest on Silila while the left-handed champion swung and missed.
The fight continued to degenerate into a mauling and wrestling affair with very little in the way of effective boxing.
Nkwankwa’s corner may have sensed that their charge was no longer interested in fighting as they suddenly tossed in the towel with Nkwankwa not getting any noticeable pounding.
The towel even surprised referee Lulama Mtya who was unsighted as he stopped short from tossing it right back out of the ring.
But Nkwankwa did not even protest the stoppage, instead he appeared relieved that the contest was over and would happily get his purse without doing much.
The two boxers had fought to a draw in December last year.
The main bout between Thembelani Nxoshe and Nhlanhla Ngamntwini was still in progress at the time of going to print.