By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Colin ‘Nomakanjani’ Nathan is ecstatic after leading his boxer Lerato ‘Lights Out’ Dlamini to a split decision victory over Japanese opponent Tomoki Kameda on Saturday.
Dlamini went into the fight as an underdog and upstaged Kameda in front of a hostile crowd at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
Two judges Mike Fitzgerald and Fernando Villareal had Dlamini winning by 116-112 while Kameda won by 115-113 on Michiaki Someya’s score card.
This shootout was an eliminator for the number two position on the International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight ratings.
“Obviously, we are ecstatic about the win. The split decision was a lot of weird. The Japanese judge went 7-5 against us. Two neutral judges went for us 8-4, which was a true reflection of the fight,” Nathan said.
“It just proves that I can pull the trigger internationally and get the wins. Tomoki is a former two-weight world champion. He was the star of the show. His brother (Koki) was promoting.”
The 29-year-old Dlamini improved his record to 20 victories (11 knockouts) and two losses while Kameda dropped to 40 wins (22 stoppages) and four defeats.
“We went in as major underdogs and pulled a sterling victory. I’m very happy and proud of Lerato,” Nathan concluded.
