Johannesburg – The DRC’s Emmany Kalombo successfully defended his IBF junior middleweight belt with an impressive TKO win over India’s Shiva Thakran at ESPN Africa Boxing 24 in Johannesburg over the weekend.
The first round saw the two fighters feeling each other out as neither took any risks. The second round, however, saw Kalombo throwsome big shots, and he landed some heavy blows in the third, which left Thakran visibly hurt.
As a result, the fighter from India failed to answer the fourth round bell as Kalombo picked up the 17th win of his career.
The co-main event, meanwhile, saw a triumphant return to the ring for Dee-jay Kriel, who earned a split decision win over Thembelani Nxoshe in their catchweight fight over eight rounds. After being out of action for over two years, Kriel worked off his ring rust early on which saw his opponent win the first couple of rounds.
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In the third, though, the former IBF champion picked up the pace and started taking control, with Nxoshe having no answer. The remaining rounds saw Kriel take the centre of the ring and keep up the pressure with a constant barrage of punches, which earned him the victory.
The main card opened with an international women’s bantamweight fight that saw Malawi’s Ellen Simwaka earn a TKO win over South Africa’s Asandiswa Nxokwana.
Simwaka was the more aggressive of the two, and threw a lot of punches from the opening bell. Nxokwana was nowhere to be found in the first round and received a lot of punishment in the second.
Consequently, the South African failed to answer the bell for the third round.
The second bout on the main card produced a thriller with SA’s Darrin Rossouw earning a unanimous decision win over the DRC’s Jacques Tshikubu Muvud in an international middleweight contest over eight rounds.
It was an explosive opening round with both boxer’s throwing a lot of shots, as they stood toe-to-toe and exchanged thunderous blows. And that is the way it continued for the next seven rounds, with neither fighter giving an inch.
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Jabs, straights, hooks, upper-cuts and overhand rights were all on display in what can only be described as all-out war. In the end, it was Rossouw who landed the cleaner blows to maintain his unbeaten record.
Finally, the third bout on the main card saw the DRC’s Patrick Mukala (14-2-1) earn a TKO win over SA’s Yanga Petani (14-5-1) in an international super middleweight contest.
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