ABU WELTERWEIGHT “THRILLA”

By Peter Ngatane
African Ring promoter Jeff Ellis arranged a tremendous  and memorable Tournament,  starring a stellar bout for the vacant  ABU (SADC) Welterweight Title, featuring Thulani Mbenge (SA) VS Eric Mukadi(DRC).
Both boxers made the Welterweight, with Mbenge 66.05 kg and Mukadi 65.95 kg a tad heavier.  The fight started at a hectic pace, with Thulani Mbenge, as  the aggressor. He was throwing heavy punches, while Mukadi was missing rather a lot.

The second round saw Mbenge further  increasing his punching rate. Mbenge used his jab as  a power punch, doubling up with some sinking body clouts. Mukadi was also throwing punches, but more to the head, still most missing.

The third round saw a similar pattern with Mbemge being the active and powerful aggressor. Towards the end of the third(3) round Mukadi gave an indication that something was not well, by pointing to his right foot.

The fourth round saw Mukadi not being able to move as he did before. He was receiving a lot of heavy punches and at  2min 5sec he raised his hands to the Referee, indicating  that he is quitting. He again  pointed to his foot, then returning to his corner limping.

Referee: Thabo Spampool  performed well, and allowing  the fight to flow.  At the point when the action halted, the scores were:

Judges Neville Hotz 40:34 Mbenge.
Boitumelo Madiba 40:36 Mbenge.
Simon Mokadi 40:34 Mbenge.

The new worthy  and deserved ABU (SADC) Welterweight Champion is THULANI MBENGE. A  former Olympian, he shows prodigious promise as a future major star.  This is the third ABU REGIONAL TITLE Champion since the inception of ABU Regional Championships at Last year`s  WBC Convention in China.