The thought of retiring from active boxing has not crossed the mind of vanquished boxer Jackson ‘M3’ Chauke even though he lost his International Boxing Organisation (IBO) flyweight title to Ricardo Malajika on Saturday evening.
The 39-year-old Chauke suffered a second round stoppage loss to Malajika at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park. And in the process, Chauke was dethroned as an IBO flyweight champion.
“I’ll be moving up. I have been struggling to make the weight, especially in this fight. I hadn’t fought for over a year. Maybe I will move to the bantamweight,” Chauke said.
The Tembisa-based Chauke added: “I don’t know about him (Malajika) being a flyweight because the fight was still young. I don’t know how he made the fight. He’s too big for the flyweight division.”
This was the first time ever that Chauke lost a flyweight bout in almost 12 years. His last loss in a flyweight bout before Saturday was against the late Lwandile Sityata in April 2013.
“I’ve got no excuses. He caught me with few jabs. I thought I was gonna shake them off. The first shot that dropped me I didn’t see it. The second one I couldn’t see it because of the angle,” Chauke remarked.
“I think it was a good shot. I’ve got no excuse. He worked hard. He’s young and he wanted it more. Congratulations to him and I wish him all the best. He’s a nice guy. I wish he can fight for the IBF, WBC and the WBO belts.” – Monwabisi Jimlongo
