Joyi’s camp breaks silence after defeat

Nkosinathi Joyi’s camp has blamed his lack of action in the mini-flyweight division for his defeat by Simpiwe Konkco.

Joyi returned to the mini-flyweight division after a three-year- absence to challenge Konkco for his old IBO crown in a fight held at Orient Theatre at the weekend.

The fight was part of the boxing tribute to legend Mzi Mnguni who was at ringside.

Joyi had not fought in the mini-flyweight since losing a decision to Hekkie Budler in 2013.

And while he started well and looked to be on course to scoring a stoppage win, he faded down the stretch when Konkco changed the strategy and circled the Mdantsane hero to his right to take him off his stride.

With the astute advice of Colin Nathan, who is arguably the best trainer in the land, Konkco was able to effectively neutralise Joyi’s aggression to outscore him by the middle rounds.

“Nkosinathi had not fought in the mini-flyweight division in three years and that began to tell down the stretch as he struggled to adjust to the rigours of fighting in this weight class,” Joyi’s mentor Boy Boy Mpulampula said.

“You can prepare for a fight but there other factors that often crop up during the fight, which you had not anticipated. We prepared well for Konkco but we did not know how Nkosinathi would react down the stretch.”

However, there are differing views on whether Joyi should continue boxing after losing a gutsy decision.

Joyi started very well and at times wobbled Konkco until the latter decided to employ a stick-and-move style to befuddle the 33-year-old veteran.

Some spectators who crammed the venue, felt the boxer was no longer the same marauding exponent he once was and therefore called for his retirement before finding himself being used as a stepping stone by rising stars.

But others felt Joyi deserved credit for the gusty performance he put forth especially as he made Konkco change his strategy.

Others blamed Mpulampula for coming with only a plan A strategy and could not adjust when Konkco shifted to another gear.

“The fight was won and lost in the corner,” one Joyi fan said.

Nathan had boasted before the fight that he would continue with his dominance of a Mpulampula-trained boxer.

The two trainers locked horns when a Mpulampula-trained Siyabonga Siyo lost to Konkco in June.

Also, Mpulampula was in Joyi’s corner when the boxer lost to Budler who had Nathan in his corner.

While it was all gloom and doom in Joyi’s fan-base, some of his fans feel that he proved that he still has more boxing left in his body.

And Golden Gloves Promotion boss Rodney Berman who organised the fight was reportedly impressed by Joyi’s performance.

“Rodney promised Joyi he would get him back into the ring,” Mpulampula said.

While Joyi produced his best performance against Konkco since his loss to Budler, there was discontent with the judges’ scorecards which did not reflect the closeness of the bout.

Two judges had Konkco winning an almost shut out bout by 119-111 and 118-112 while the third judge’s score of 116-113 appeared closer to reality.

The loss was the fifth for Joyi in 32 bouts and was only the second against an SA boxer after Budler.