Local boxers give fans a thrill in tournament
Knapp was back to his best and demolished Cabalquinto.
Boxers from the Brian Mitchell Boxing Academy in Edenvale enthralled fans and produced scintillating performances when they recently took to the ring.
On Decembers 6, Keanu Koopman, Charlton Malajika, Beaven Sibanda and Roarke Knapp fought in the the “Rivalry Reloaded” Box and Dine Tournament at Emperors Place’s Centre Court.
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Of the four, Knapp, Koopman and Malajika went home victorious while the Zimbabwean-born Sibanda gave everything in the ring but lost his WBC Silver strawweight title bout against SA and ABU strawweight boxing champion Siyakholwa “One Way” Kuse.
At a press conference prior to fight night, Sibanda and Kuse promised a war in the ring and the two certainly delivered a cracker of a fight.
While Kuse got the upper hand in the middle rounds Sibanda threw everything he had at the SA champ in the latter rounds but, unfortunately for the Edenvale fighter, Kuse had done enough and the judges scored the fight 114-114, 115-114 and 117-111 in the latter’s favour.
Knapp, who unexpectedly lost to Mexican Jorge Garcia in June, got his boxing career back on track when he won the Junior Super Welterweight International title by beating Adones Cabalquinto in the headline bout of the tournament.
Knapp was back to his best and demolished Cabalquinto with the referee stopping the fight in the third round to give the Edenvale boxer a well-deserved TKO victory.
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In another title fight for the vacant SA Welterweight belt, Koopman had Bonke Duku of Orlando East in trouble in the fifth round of their clash before a barrage of blows from the Primrose fighter had the referee stop the fight in the eighth round to hand Koopman the TKO victory and the SA title.
Not to be outdone Malajika, an eight-time SA amateur champion and brother of IBO World Junior Bantamweight champ Ricardo “Magic Man” Malajika, captured the WBA Pan African Bantamweight belt by beating Sabelo Cebkhulu of KZN with a unanimous points decision victory.
In the opening bout of the evening Tyla Promnick, also of Edenvale made a successful debut to her boxing career stopping Simamkele Genu of the Eastern Cape in the fourth round of their strawweight contest.
Promnick, who is trained by Alan Toweel, was delighted to be congratulated on her performance by boxing great and the last undisputed Heavyweight World Champion Lennox Lewis was ringside to watch all the action.
