A whirlwind performance during Bryan Thysse’s fight against his cousin Gerhard Thysse seems to have made a compelling argument for a rematch between the two boxers.
Bryan successfully defended his South African light-heavyweight title when he defeated Gerhard via a split decision at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, on Saturday evening.
Bryan and Gerhard hammered each other hard and there were moments when it looked like their fight was not going to reach the distance. However, it did reach the distance with Bryan’s hand being raised in the end.
Riaan Janse van Rensburg scored the fight 111-116 in favour of Bryan and Thando Xamlashe had him winning by 112-115 with Mfundo Mvandaba scoring the bout 114-113 for Gerhard.
“They gave us a very good fight. They fought very well. A rematch won’t be a bad idea,” Golden Gloves chief executive officer Rodney Berman said.
Bryan and Gerhard are first cousins as their fathers are siblings. Bryan is the son of the late SA super-middleweight champion Andre Thysse while Gerhard Senior is Gerhard’s father.
This was the first time since 2002 that cousins fought against each other. Cousins Mbulelo Nyanda and Kholisile Nyanda from Kariega in the Eastern Cape fought against each other in the past.
Kholisile stopped Mbulelo in the fifth round when they squared up for the Eastern Cape minimumweight title fight at the Indoor Sports Centre, Kariega, in November 1995.
It took Mbulelo just over six years before he avenged that loss as he registered a points win over Kholisile at the same Kariega venue in February 2002.
Meanwhile, the first known fight, which pitted cousins against each other in South Africa was when Tony Habib defeated Jimmy Toweel by a ninth round stoppage in a vacant SA lightweight contest at Wembley Stadium in Johannesburg on 16 August 1952. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
