By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Phumelela ‘The Truth’ Cafu has revealed that Genisis Libranza gave him a scare and there was a time when he felt the Filipino boxer would stop him during their fight at the Orlando Community Hall in Soweto on Sunday.
Fortunately, Cafu emerged victorious from the fight as he won by a unanimous points decision to have the IBF International junior-bantamweight belt strapped around his waist.
“I undermined Libranza and I nearly paid dearly for that. This was my toughest fight ever as Libranza caught me with very big blows. He showed me something else,” Cafu admitted.
The lad from Duncan Village in East London also revealed that he went into the fight with an intention to stop Libranza, but that was easier said than done as the Pinoy boxer showed him flames.
“I landed my usual and trusted blows and Libranza didn’t feel them while I felt all his blows. I wanted to stop him, but I couldn’t do that. I was then forced to change my strategy otherwise I wouldn’t have finished the fight,” Cafu said.
“A change of plan was brought about by my corner and that helped me a lot. Rounds eight and 10 were very difficult. Actually, I was in survival mode in round 10. I would have been stopped had I not clinched with him. It was the first time ever that I back pedalled during a fight.”
