GALLERY: Malajika takes first professional title
Southerner Malajika outclasses his opponent.
TO be in a class of your own means you have a particular skill that nobody else has.
Coming from a boxing family, Ricardo Malajika, who has just joined the professional ranks from highly competitive amateur status, has proof that it will take a special boxer to beat him.
The new Gauteng junior-bantamweight titleholder didn’t hesitate to demolish a boxer in a class of his own, Layten Gloss, last weekend.
Razor Sharp boxing tournament was held on August 23 at Emperors Palace in conjunction with Golden Gloves promotions.
In the five-bout event, Malajika vs Gloss could be claimed as the Fight of the Night. Not because the diminutive Malajika hails from the South, but because of the quality of boxing these two fighters showcased on the evening. None of them gave anything away and were slugging it out to capture the Gauteng belt.
It was just that Malajika was the more superior of the two and by the third round 1:33 seconds, he rounded up Gloss by a perfect sharp punch that sent his opponent to the canvas to claim his first professional title.
In the main bout of the evening, champion Rowan Campbell retained his International Boxing Organisation (IBO) Africa super middleweight title when he beat Patrick Mukala by TKO seventh round 2:42 seconds.
For a while in the earlier rounds, Campbell did not have it all his way as Mukala had the upper hand. He pounded Campbell in the face at regular pace and the champions’ corner had to change their tactics in order to get back on track. In round seven Campbell had already sent Mukala to the canvas and it was a question of when the final blow will come.
The main supporting bout came from a classic fight between Rourke Knapp and Aleksandra Zhuravskiy from Kazakhstan. The international junior middleweight fight went the full distance of 10 rounds and Knapp won by unanimous points’ decision from the judges 97/93, 96/94, 98/92.
The evening’s proceedings were opened by Cayden Truter and Lopez Maluleke, also going the full distance in the junior lightweight division. Truter won by unanimous points’ decision 40/36, 39/37, 40/36.
In the welterweight bout between Darrin Rossouw and Ramsey Hlungwani, Rossouw won by TKO in the fourth round 2:59 seconds.
Fists of Steel tournament will be held on September 21 when Kevin Lerena defends his IBO cruiserweight belt against Sefer Seferi from Switzerland. Book your table with Jeff Ellis on 078 457 3030.
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