THABO Sonjica finally avenged his two previous defeats by Macbute Sinyabi when he beat him on points to lift the SA junior-featherweight title in a foul-filled fight at Mdantsane Indoor Centre yesterday.
The fight was nothing like their two previous bouts which were filled with drama.
This time Sonjica refused to be lured into a slugfest and opted to box behind his right jab. Sinyabi tried to make a fight of it and would lunge in only to miss badly.
Sonjica would make him pay even though most of his blows were illegal as he hit behind the head.
At times Sonjica would wrestle Sinyabi to the ground and receive a warning from referee Andile Matika, who had a busy afternoon.
Sonjica showboated for most of the fight and hardly launched a sustained offence even though he looked like ending the fight within the distance when he did.
When the outcome was announced the hall reverberated into deafening screams from the pro-Sonjica crowd.
All the judges scored the fight in favour of the Duncan Village southpaw with Siya Vabaza turning in a 118-114 card while her two colleagues Alan Matakane had it 117-111 and Simpiwe Mbini scored it 117-112.
Even though Sonjica finally got the measure of Sinyabi, he could have done it in more spectacular fashion but opted to clown around for most of the time, sparking his younger brother and Olympian Ayabonga to shout at him to work harder.
The win took Sonjica’s fight record to 17 victories and two losses both suffered against Sinyabi, while the former champion dropped to his third loss in 24 bouts.
In another SA title clash Aphiwe Mboyiya retained his featherweight crown when he beat Lucky Khwaza on points in a tougher than expected encounter.
Although Mboyiya successfully defended his title his credibility as the champion took a knock when he tired badly in the championship rounds. The youngest champ in the country had to dig deep as Khwaza took the last five rounds after conceding the earlier innings.
The judges’ scorecards signalled the closeness of the fight with Vabaza and Mbini had it 115-114 while Alan Matakane scored 116-114.
Mboyiya, who is still a work in progress, lifted the title from Sydney Maluleke last December and was making a voluntary defence against the unknown Khwaza.
But he struggled mightily against the unheralded champion who used short counters effectively especially on the inside. Mboyiya started well with his body punches sapping the energy of the challenger.
Both fighters fighting from a southpaw stance, the fight was fought at a frenetic pace which dropped significantly in the second half as the excessive heat in the hall began to take its toll.
From the seventh round, the fighters resorted to single blows and holding with Khwaza neutralising Mboyiya’s offence by constantly slipping into a clinch.
In a drama-filled fight Vusumsi Bokolo captured the Eastern Cape lightweight title when he stopped Zola Thunywa in the second round.
The fight featured wild exchanges, low blows, a headbutt that opened a cut on Thunywa’s left eye and hitting after the round had ended.
The hall erupted into laughter when female referee Siya Vabaza slipped her hand inside Bokolo’s pair of shorts to ease off the pain after Bokolo had been violently hit below the belt.
Bokolo recovered to score three knockdowns to end the fight.
Other results: Mziwoxolo Ndwayana bt Mzwanele Mkiwane (welterweight) TKO 3; Nkosana Sobethu bt Mbuyiseli Bester (featherweight) KO 5.
Sonjica right on button
The fight was nothing like their two previous bouts which were filled with drama.
This time Sonjica refused to be lured into a slugfest and opted to box behind his right jab. Sinyabi tried to make a fight of it and would lunge in only to miss badly.
Sonjica would make him pay even though most of his blows were illegal as he hit behind the head.
At times Sonjica would wrestle Sinyabi to the ground and receive a warning from referee Andile Matika, who had a busy afternoon.
Sonjica showboated for most of the fight and hardly launched a sustained offence even though he looked like ending the fight within the distance when he did.
When the outcome was announced the hall reverberated into deafening screams from the pro-Sonjica crowd.
All the judges scored the fight in favour of the Duncan Village southpaw with Siya Vabaza turning in a 118-114 card while her two colleagues Alan Matakane had it 117-111 and Simpiwe Mbini scored it 117-112.
Even though Sonjica finally got the measure of Sinyabi, he could have done it in more spectacular fashion but opted to clown around for most of the time, sparking his younger brother and Olympian Ayabonga to shout at him to work harder.
The win took Sonjica’s fight record to 17 victories and two losses both suffered against Sinyabi, while the former champion dropped to his third loss in 24 bouts.
In another SA title clash Aphiwe Mboyiya retained his featherweight crown when he beat Lucky Khwaza on points in a tougher than expected encounter.
Although Mboyiya successfully defended his title his credibility as the champion took a knock when he tired badly in the championship rounds. The youngest champ in the country had to dig deep as Khwaza took the last five rounds after conceding the earlier innings.
The judges’ scorecards signalled the closeness of the fight with Vabaza and Mbini had it 115-114 while Alan Matakane scored 116-114.
Mboyiya, who is still a work in progress, lifted the title from Sydney Maluleke last December and was making a voluntary defence against the unknown Khwaza.
But he struggled mightily against the unheralded champion who used short counters effectively especially on the inside. Mboyiya started well with his body punches sapping the energy of the challenger.
Both fighters fighting from a southpaw stance, the fight was fought at a frenetic pace which dropped significantly in the second half as the excessive heat in the hall began to take its toll.
From the seventh round, the fighters resorted to single blows and holding with Khwaza neutralising Mboyiya’s offence by constantly slipping into a clinch.
In a drama-filled fight Vusumsi Bokolo captured the Eastern Cape lightweight title when he stopped Zola Thunywa in the second round.
The fight featured wild exchanges, low blows, a headbutt that opened a cut on Thunywa’s left eye and hitting after the round had ended.
The hall erupted into laughter when female referee Siya Vabaza slipped her hand inside Bokolo’s pair of shorts to ease off the pain after Bokolo had been violently hit below the belt.
Bokolo recovered to score three knockdowns to end the fight.
Other results: Mziwoxolo Ndwayana bt Mzwanele Mkiwane (welterweight) TKO 3; Nkosana Sobethu bt Mbuyiseli Bester (featherweight) KO 5.
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