A straight left, which landed at will, proved too much and dangerous as Vadim Musaev dethroned Thulani Mbenge at the Duty-Free Tennis Stadium, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday evening.
The Russian stopped Mbenge in the third round and in the process wrestled the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) welterweight crown away from the Eastern Cape boxer.
Things started to go wrong for Mbenge from the first round as he couldn’t deal with Musaev’s straight left. It was no surprise when he was decked in the third round and he wobbled while trying to get up.
This was the first time that the 34-year-old Mbenge, a former South African welterweight champion, was stopped since he traded his vest for the professional ranks.
Mbenge dropped to 22 victories, 16 knockouts and three losses while the 32-year-old Musaev has improved his record to 14 wins with nine stoppages.
