Ring warrior hailed as true great
Boxing SA board chairman Peter Ngatane has hailed Moruti Mthalane’s regaining of the IBF flyweight title last weekend.
This when the Kwa-Zulu-Natal-born boxer beat South Korean-based Pakistani Mohammad Waseem at Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to take the number of world champions in the land to 12.
“Around 5am on a beautiful Sunday morning of 15 July 2018, South Africa welcomed its eleventh world champion when Moruti 'Baby Face' Mthalane outpointed Muhammed Waseem of South Korea in Kuala Lumpur to win the IBF Flyweight World Title,” Ngatane wrote in a statement released by BSA.
Mthalane's stablemate, Hekkie Budler holds two world title belts.
“Among these are four of some of the world’s most sought after belts, the WBO, the WBA and two IBF belts,” the statement read.
According to the statement, Mthalane had a busy day at the office to an extent that at some point he found himself on the canvass after Waseem earned a knockdown in the 11th round.
“It was however too little too late for the undefeated youngster because Moruti had already gotten the most work done in early rounds of the fight.
“In that standoff of experience versus ambition, it was experience that triumphed. Moruti simply tapped into experience to weather the storm in the final round as the youngster went on overdrive and fired on all cylinders. Knowing that he was behind on points, Muhammed tried in vain to secure a knockout.
When the dust settled, what remained was full consensus among judges that Baby Face is the new champion of the world in the IBF flyweight division.”
For Mthalane the victory earned deep in the Asian forests against a Bengal tiger in its prime. Not only did this victory by Moruti squash Muhammed's world title ambition but it also expunged that invaluable “zero” on his defeat records.
Ngatane said the win flew the national flag high among the league of boxing nations. “Our national pride has been defended when it mattered most. We salute our warrior with a babyface and his team,” he said.