South African bantamweight champion Ronald Malindi has insisted that everything went according to plan as he successfully defended his title against a game Rofhiwa Nemushungwa at the Steve Tshwete Banquet Hall in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, early on Saturday morning.
Making his fourth defence of the SA title, Malindi emerged victorious via a split decision. Judges Ben Ncapai and Siya Mani gave Malindi the nod while Simon Mokadi had Nemushungwa winning the fight.
Ncapai and Mani scored the bout 115-114 and 117-115 for the champion with Mokadi scoring it 115-114 for Nemushungwa.
“The fight was good. It went the distance as I had promised,” Malindi said.
The 28-year-old champion had been inactive for more than two years before meeting Nemushungwa. He had last fought when he defeated Lwandile Sityata in March 2020.
“I delivered on what I said I would deliver. We still have the title. My next step is to look for something different,” he said.
