Trainer hails Mbenge’s win as best of his career
Thulani Mbenge’s trainer, Sean Smith, has hailed his fighter’s win over Argentinian opponent Leandro Fonseca in Durban at the weekend as the best bout he has been involved in.
Mbenge ended his 15-month spell of inactivity in spectacular fashion when he outduelled the once-beaten Argentinian to pitch a shut-out victory in their international welterweight bout at the Durban International Convention Centre on Friday night.
The Mdantsane boxer never showed ring rust as he displayed a varied offence from the first round and maintained the pace right up to the last round.
“I must say I was awed by Mbenge’s performance and it is certainly one of the best bouts I was involved in,” Smith said.
“For him to display that kind of performance after such a long time out of the ring underlines his quest to recapture his international form.”
Mbenge’s two losses in Europe, when Sebastian Formella of Germany relieved him of his IBO welterweight title and Souleymane Cissokho scored a close majority decision in France, triggered question marks as to whether his days as a top international practitioner were behind him.
And with Fonseca boasting an impressive 19 wins in 21 bouts with a draw and a loss from which he rebounded by winning the last three bouts by stoppages, there were concerns that the former Commonwealth bronze medallist might have been thrown into the deep end.
But Mbenge, 32, who still holds the SA title, started like a house on fire, peppering the South American with stinging shots, maintaining the dominance despite Fonseca staging a remarkable fightback to turn the bout into one of the most explosive clashes witnessed in the SA boxing ring.
His face growing puffy from Fonseca’s short inside counters, Mbenge continued to return fire, leaving no doubt that he was the deserving winner with all the three judges handing him a lopsided victory through scores of 100-91, 99-91 and 10092.
Smith said the win had breathed life into Mbenge’s career and was expected to vault him into the rankings of major world sanctioning bodies.
“The fight was shown in international countries such as Mexico and we are hoping that it will convince bodies such as the WBC to rank him in the 12th spot.
“His career will undergo an upward trajectory from now on.”
Smith said Mbenge would not again be subjected to long spells of inactivity, with the victory against Fonseca set to serve as a catalyst in his quest to return to the world stage.
However, Mbenge will need to take a short break while his face heals from Friday night’s war.