It was a bridge too far for South Africa’s Phumelela ‘The Truth’ Cafu as he lost to American boxer Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez at the Ford Centre in Star Frisco in Dallas, Texas, United States of America (USA) on Sunday morning, South African time.
The unbeaten Rodriguez was too much for Cafu from the first round until the Duncan Village-born boxer’s corner threw in the towel in the 10th round. And Cafu was already behind on points when the fight ended.
Apart from having defended his World Boxing Council (WBC) and Ring Magazine junior-bantamweight titles, Rodriguez added Cafu’s World Boxing Organisation (WBO) belt to his collection.
As a result of the victory, Rodriguez improved his record to 22 victories and 15 stoppages while Cafu dropped to 11 wins with eight knockouts, a loss and three draws.
Sadly, this was a not a good weekend for SA boxing as Lerena & Cafu fell short in their quest for greatness in their respective weight divisions. They both are championship material. It’s time to go back to the drawing board & make amendments.