KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - JULY 15: Moruti Mthalane of South Africa and Muhammad Waseem of Pakistan in action for the IBF World Title on July 15, 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by How Foo Yeen/Getty Images)
Moruti Mthalane says winning the IBF flyweight crown on Sunday for the second time in his long career was sweeter than his first coronation in 2009.
The 35-year-old survived a knockdown in the 11th round to win a unanimous decision over Pakistan’s Muhammad Waseem on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s triumphant return in Kuala Lumpur‚ Malaysia.
Two judges gave it to the South African with margins of 114-113 and the third a convincing 116-110; Mthalane’s record improved to 36 wins and two losses while Waseem suffered the first loss of his career‚ dropping to 8-1.
“[Winning it again] now feels better‚” said Mthalane‚ who was stripped of the belt in 2013 after he refused to defend it in Germany for what would have been a paltry purse.
Since then he spent the better part of five years on the sidelines battling to get action.
“I didn’t know if I was going to get it back. It shows that in everything in life you have to be patient,” he said.
Mthalane hit the deck for the second time in his career in the penultimate round‚ but insisted he was not hurt.
“I don’t know how he caught me‚ maybe I’ll see it properly when I watch the fight. But I was not finished‚ my legs were still okay and I came back strongly in the 12th round,” he said.
“What’s important is that I got off the canvas to win the fight.”
Mthalane rated Waseem‚ who had a long amateur career amassing medals at tournaments including the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games‚ as one of his toughest opponents yet. “I fought a great opponent. It was a tough fight. I knew it was going to be a war. When I hit him he hit me back.”
The last time Mthalane faced such a hard opponent was the last time he defended the same belt in Panama in September 2012. He was dropped by Ricardo Nunez in the third before getting up to stop the challenger in the eighth round.
Mthalane plans to celebrate his return with wife Thando and son Lwazi “to give back the time I took from them when I was preparing for this fight”.
He also wants to visit his mother Rita in Pietermaritzburg. “I want to see my mum because she always supports me.”
Mthalane‚ who grew up in Lindelani‚ took up boxing as a kid with encouragement from father Michael. Older brother Innocent went on to become the South African junior featherweight champion.
“I fell in love with boxing. It made me disciplined because I went to school‚ the gym and then home. I didn’t get a chance to be naughty.”
After his dad died when he was 15‚ times got tough‚ and his mom‚ a dressmaker‚ became the breadwinner. “My mother did everything in her power to put food on the table.”
Trainer-manager Colin Nathan‚ who guided Hekkie Budler to the WBA‚ IBF and Ring magazine junior flyweight title in May‚ was confident that Mthalane would not have the same problems as the last time he was world champion.
He said there was a possibility of Mthalane fighting in a unification bout if Paddy Barnes can beat WBC titleholder Cristofer Rosales in August.
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