Sikho Nqothole turns power puncher to make quick work of Jafet Amukwa

Sikho Nqothole bounced back to winning ways in spectacular fashion as he beat Namibian Jafet Amukwa by a second-round stoppage in a junior-bantamweight bout in Johannesburg on Friday night.

Some had expected “Sequence” Nqothole to struggle against a fighter who had gone the distance against former world champion Dee-Jay Kriel last year, but the visiting pugilist was overmatched.

Nqothole floored his opponent with a right hand early in the second round and he pressed the attack, landing blows, until referee Pumeza Zinakile stepped in to halt proceedings.

Nqothole, who lost on points in his last outing, improved his record to 19 wins and three losses while his opponent dropped to nine victories, six defeats and a draw.  

In the main undercard bout on the Boxing 5 card in Booysens, Katlego Khanyisa stopped Sandile Dumisa in the final eighth round of their junior-lightweight bout, with referee David van Niewenhuisen waving it over with just 11 seconds remaining.

The two produced an entertaining bout which swung both ways, though Khanyisa took control after switching to orthodox, bringing his potent left into play more often.

Frank “The Tank” Sotomela iced Thamsanqa Cele in just 24 seconds of their flyweight contest, felling him with a left hook to the head.

Referee Simon Mokadi could have ended it straight away — Cele was clearly out and unable to get up. It was one of four first-round stoppages on the night and certainly the most vicious. 

Sameer Mulla underlined his standing as an exciting prospect as he slugged his way to a six-round points win over the more experienced Saul Hlungwane in a junior-featherweight contest that was judged fight of the night.

Mulla, now unbeaten in six fights, might not pack a knockout punch, but he brings excitement and skill to the ring that he combines in a whirlwind style of attack.

He possesses a good eye for a gap, occasionally winding up his punches before they land.

Mulla was briefly dropped in the opening round — some felt it was a slip — but he overcame that early points deficit to win 58-55 on all three cards against a fighter whose record dropped to 6-7.

Former national mini-flyweight champion Bangile Nyangani was handed a draw in his flyweight debut against the less-experienced Njabulo Buthelezi.

Nyangani can consider himself unlucky not to get the win over six rounds, but the judges might not have been overly enthused by his strategy of fighting at range and seldom mixing it.

He was slicker, but the low count of effective punches landed probably counted against him.

Nyangani’s record now reads 13-2-2 and Buthelezi’s 6-1-1.