In a brilliant exhibition of boxing, South Africa’s Ricardo Malajika (13-2; 9) completely out-boxed and outthought Marcel Braithwaite (16-4-1; 1) from England to retain the IBO junior bantamweight title for the first time, at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park on Saturday night.
The scores handed in by the judges, Jeun–Robert Laine, Allan Matakane and Roger Barnor, were all 120-108 in favour of the champion.
Abandoning his normal flashy style, it was all business for Malajika as he took charge from the opening bell, pushing Braithwaite’s head back with his educated left jab.
However, he changed to the southpaw stance on occasion as he was in complete command throughout the fight.
The challenger ended up with blood leaking from his nose and covering his face. He never looked like he would win a round.
POTGIETER WINS SA HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Against the odds at a reported 36 years old, Shaun Potgieter (9-1; 5) won the South African heavyweight title against the 25-year-old defending champion Keaton Gomes (10-3; 8) on an 11th-round technical knockout.
Gomez made a good start through rounds one and two, with Potgieter looking better in the third round.
In round four, a low blow sent the defending champion down on his knees but he recovered after a short respite.
Potgieter had a good round six and nine in a mauling affair but absorbed some good shots from the champion who began to slow down.
In round 11, a big right hand from the challenger sent Gomes down in the corner where, bloodied and beaten, he made an effort to beat the count, but the fight was waved off by referee Thabo Spampool at 48 seconds into the round.
THYSSE WINS ON A SPLIT DECISION
In a closely-fought encounter, junior middleweight Brandon Thysse won on a 10-round split decision over the talented Darrin Rossouw. The scores were Thysse 96-94 twice and Rousouw 96-94.
OTHER RESULTS
Light heavyweight - Dylan Prosser W4 Phulufhelo Ramaliba.
Light heavyweight – Sanele Mbatha D 4 Clifford Louw
Middleweight – Dean Promnick W tko 3 Khumbulani Duma
The tournament was presented by Golden Gloves Promotions.