Byo Bomber knocks out Japanese opponent
SOUTH African-based cage fighter Elvis Moyo knocked out Japanese mixed martial arts veteran Kiyoshi Tamura in the fourth round of their bout in Tokyo on Saturday night.
The Bulawayo-born wrestler-cum-cage fighter shrugged off poor travelling arrangements that saw him arriving in Japan a day before the fight, giving him little time to acclimatise.
In an interview from Japan, Moyo, whose ring name is The Bulawayo Bomber, believes the victory against Tamura had opened opportunities for him overseas.
“I’m excited because I worked hard for this victory. I had to shed off six kilogrammes from 118kgs to 112kgs in a short space of time. My opponent is a top wrestler and as such, I had to be cautious, look out for those kicks and get him with quick combinations. It’s my hope that after this fight I’ll get more overseas bouts,” said Moyo.
Saturday’s bill was more of a boxer versus a wrestler, similar to that of Ali versus Inoki in the 1970s.
The late boxing great Muhammad Ali fought against professional wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976 in a bout that inspired the launch of mixed martial arts. It was the first time a boxer had taken on a martial artist.
Moyo was using Saturday’s fight as part of his preparations for the heavyweight title bout against Extreme Fighting Championship Africa (EFC) champion Danie van Heerden in October.
Moyo will fight van Heerden in a bill dubbed “The biggest stand-up battle in EFC history” on October 15 at Sun City, Rustenburg, in South Africa’s North West province.
The former heavyweight boxing champion said he would use proceeds from his Japanese fight to fund his training programme for the title fight against van Heerden.
“The next 12 weeks will be busy for me as I prepare for the title fight against van Heerden. I’ll undergo intense training so that I’m in my best shape leading to the fight. I don’t have a sponsor, so I’ll have to foot my training programme and the fight against Tamura came at the right time for me because now I’ll be able to do so,” Moyo said.
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