John ‘Section 29’ Bopape was somewhat surprised that his fight against Snamiso Ntuli from Ladysmith didn’t go the full distance on Sunday.
The South African middleweight champion stopped Ntuli in the eighth round to retain his title at the Dlamini Hall in Soweto.
“That was a good fight from my side. I had prepared myself to go the full 12 rounds as always. We dropped him and the fight ended after that. Ntuli is a good boxer, but he was not on my level during the fight,” Bopape said.
The 31-year-old champion from Alexandra in Johannesburg aims to hold on to his national title for some time.
“My plan is to make sure that I continue to defend my title. I would also love to fight internationally because I believe I can make it,” the champion said.
Bopape, who was making his first defence of the SA title since dethroning Nkululeko Mhlongo in April, has won his last three fights by stoppages. He stopped Faustin Bukasa from the Democratic Republic of Congo in December last year, Mhlongo and Ntuli.
