Plenty of action at Orient once again
Magushashows his superiority over Baleni
In a grudge match Xolisa Magusha repeated the feat when he beat Siphamandla Baleni to retain his SA mini flyweight title at the Orient Theatre on Sunday.
Magusha had dethroned Baleni of the title in December last year and again he proved his superiority in a closer fight which had the three judges divided.
Two of them scored it 116113 and 115-113 for Magusha while the third had Baleni winning by 116-112.
In an ugly bout that featured wild swings and misses, Luyanda Ntwanambi survived a knockdown to score a split decision to win the WBO Youth flyweight title over Tanzanian Adam Mbega.
Only Ntwanambi was eligible to win the title after Mbega failed to make the weight.
Even though Ntwanambi was dropped in the third round when one of Mbega’s swings caught him off balance, he controlled the wild swinging contest with much crisper punches. The contest was fought without any of the boxers making use the jab.
The judges’ scores were all over the place with two voting for the 20-year old Duncan Village star by 77-73, overruling their colleague who turned in a 77-74 tally.
Ntwanambi stretched his career record to five unbeaten bouts while the visitor fell to eight wins and a defeat.
Other bouts saw former Olympian Ayabonga Sonjica produce sublime boxing to outbox Luthando Mbumbulwana before closing the show in the fifth round of their junior featherweight duel.
Pitting left-handers against each other, the bout was fought at a frenetic pace with Sonjica getting off first. Mbumbulwana never stopped trying, however, but his boxing style which is based on a technical aspect meant that he was always going to come second to a highlytrained technician like Sonjica.
After controlling almost every round including scoring a big knockdown in the third, Sonjica suddenly landed at will while trapping his toe in the corner. Then when two lefts thudded again on Mbumbulwana's face, the fight was mercifully waved off.
Another boxer with a decorated amateur career, Asanda Gingqi, laid out Odwa Mbotyeni in a featherweight duel.
Other results: Luvuyo Sizani KO1 Lwazi Mvane(light-heavy); Phumelele Sobahle TKO3 Sam Sithole(light); Hlumelo Makhonco W4(bantam); Athenkosi Thongwana W4 Mzamo Mkibeni (minifly).