It’s easy to understand world champion Phumelela ‘The Truth’ Cafu’s happiness after he dethroned Japanese boxer Kosei Tanaka by a split decision at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday.
A happy Cafu, who fought in front of a hostile crowd, walked away with the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) junior-bantamweight belt following the win over Tanaka.
Duncan Village-born Cafu got the nod from two judges – Phil Austin and Waleska Roldan (both 114-113) while Jesse Reyes (114-113) gave the fight to Tanaka.
“I’m very, very happy to have won this title. It was not an easy fight. Tanaka is a tough and quick boxer. Anyway, I expected that from him,” Cafu said.
“I waited for him to make a mistake then I dropped him. I wanted to finish him off, but found out that he was not gone yet. That knockdown really helped and made a big difference.”
This was the first time Cafu fought outside South Africa and he believes that it would have been a great moment had his stablemate Sivenathi ‘Special One’ Nontshinga won his fight on Saturday.
Nontshinga surrendered his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-flyweight title after he was stopped in the ninth round by Japanese boxer Masamichi Yabuki.
“I was nervous before the fight. Remember, it was my first time fighting outside South Africa. It was also the first time I fought for the world title,” Cafu remarked.
“Sive and I left South Africa to fight here in Japan and it would have been great had both of us won our fights. But that’s how boxing is like.”
Meanwhile, Cafu, a former South African junior-bantamweight champion, revealed that he’s now going to take a break and be with his family before deciding what to do next. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
