Murray still has work to do
It was meant to be a fight to blow the cobwebs off and begin a move to bigger things, but Martin Murray's performance against Ishmael Tetteh suggests that there's still some work to be done.
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A two-time world title challenger, Murray was pitted against a Ghanaian considered to be little more than a journeyman, but it proved to be a tougher test than expected for the Englishman as he laboured to a bizarre seventh-round TKO win in the headliner of the “Malice at the Palace” bill at Emperors Palace.
Murray had begun cautiously, with his hands high, as he figured out his opponent, testing him with jabs and punches to the body, but as the fight wore on, it was clear that Murray, in his first fight under the Golden Gloves banner, became more relaxed as his guard dropped.
Tetteh should have been put away a lot sooner given that his punches appeared to have little effect on Murray, while he had to weather several attacks, particularly to his body.
The junior-welterweight clash between Adam de Moor and Paul Kamanga lived up to its billing as the two delivered the fight of the night. In the end it was the slicker boxing skills of Kamanga that got the job done, as he stopped De Moor in the sixth round.
Grant Fourie scored the knockout of the night as his booming right hand folded Luyando Jako in the fifth round of their junior-welterweight contest, while Boitshepo Mandawe shook off ring rust to stop unbeaten Herbert Nkabiti in the fifth round in their fight in the same division.
Heavyweight newcomer Martin Makabu got the job done as expected with a second round stoppage of Chris Mabombo while Vhonani Netshidamboni and Page Tshesane fought to an entertaining draw in the opening bout of the evening in their super-middleweight clash.
