Boxer Andre Mulumba produced a commanding third-round technical knockout victory over Pieter Breytenbach at the Golden Gloves Magic at the Palace tournament at Emperors Palace on July 11.

The 22-year-old light heavyweight delivered one of the evening’s standout performances, giving the Lions Pride Boxing Gym another reason to believe it has a future title contender in its ranks.

For trainer Ryno Liebenberg, the victory was about more than just another win. It was a sign of Mulumba’s growing confidence and ability to seize opportunities when they present themselves.

“His ability to finish the job as soon as he knew he could. He made it harder than it should have been, but he got the job done,” Liebenberg said.

Liebenberg believes Mulumba’s greatest strengths extend beyond his performances in the ring.

“We’re coming for everything. At 22, we’re going to take it all,” he said. “Andre’s hard work and discipline are what make him special.”

Despite the impressive display, the experienced trainer is in no rush to fast-track the young boxer. Instead, he plans to continue building Mulumba’s experience before stepping him up to longer contests.

“He’s still green. We’ll probably have a couple more four-round fights before moving into longer rounds,” Liebenberg explained.

While Mulumba gave the Lions Pride camp plenty to celebrate, teammate Juan ‘The Gentleman’ Alberts endured a frustrating evening in his heavyweight clash against experienced international boxer Jack Mulowayi. Alberts started strongly but was eventually stopped in the sixth round.

Liebenberg admitted the result was disappointing, particularly after the encouraging opening rounds.

“Round one was ours all the way. I thought it was going to be an early night,” he said, adding, “We still had round two, but round three is where it started going wrong.”

Rather than dwell on the defeat, Liebenberg said the team will use the fight as a learning opportunity.

“Not much went our way, so it’s back to the drawing board. We’ll go back, review the fight and see what happened,” he said.

Although the evening ended with mixed fortunes for the gym, Liebenberg remains confident about the direction Lions Pride Boxing is heading. With emerging talent like Mulumba continuing to impress and experienced fighters such as Alberts determined to bounce back.