Local boxer lands knockout win for SA title
The Thysse boxing legacy continues as Bryan Thysse joins his father and brother as national champions after a decisive win at Emperors Palace.
Despite a gutsy performance, Michael Head was no match for Bryan Thysse in the ring.
Thysse, who trains under Damien Durandt at Durandt’s Boxing & Fitness in Linksfield, faced off against Head in the headline bout of the “Destiny’s Decree” Box and Dine Tournament.
The tournament was held on October 4 at Emperors Palace’s centre court.
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The two went head-to-head for the vacant South African light-heavyweight title, with the Benoni boxer no match for Thysse, who was on a mission to become the third member of his family to become a national boxing champion.
Despite Head’s never-say-die attitude, Thysse was too strong after a flurry of blows from the Alberton boxer in the ninth round, and the referee intervened and stopped the fight.
This TKO victory sees Thysse follow in his father, Andre Thysse, who was an SA super middleweight champion, and his older brother Brandon, who is the SA junior middleweight belt holder.
In addition, the victory also saw Thysse crowned the “Rising Titans” champion.
Without skipping a beat, rising South African boxing star Charlton “Baby Pain” Malajika continued to impress when he demolished the experienced Filipino Froilan Saludar during the undercard of the tournament.
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Malajika, who boxes out of the Brian Mitchell Boxing Academy Gym in Edenvale, brought the pain to the 36-year-old Saludar, trapping him in a corner in the fourth round with the referee stepping in to stop the fight at the 2:58 mark of this international bantamweight contest.
This takes Malajika, an eight-time SA amateur champion, to nine straight wins in his professional career, with the only blemish on his record a split-decision loss in his first professional outing.
Not to be outdone, Congolese-born Jose Kadima, who currently lives and boxes out of Overport in KZN, produced a powerhouse performance to record a first-round TKO victory over Malawi’s Limbani Lano in a bout on the undercard of the tournament.
The two faced each other in an international heavyweight contest with Kadima’s victory taking him to 6-0.
