Unheralded Sabelo Ndwandwe upset the applecart as he put up a brilliant performance on his way to handing Lindokuhle Khuzwayo his first professional loss at the Galleria Events Venue, Sandton, in Johannesburg on Saturday evening.
As a result of his win, Ndwandwe from Melmoth in KwaZulu-Natal dethroned Khuzwayo as he captured the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) All Africa featherweight title via a split decision.
Pumeza Zinakile (96-94) and Sylvia Mokaila (97-93) had Ndwandwe winning while Simon Mokadi (96-94) gave the fight to Khuzwayo, who also hails from KwaZulu-Natal.
Ndwandwe took the fight Khuzwayo immediately after the first gong and he continued to put his opponent under pressure until the last bell rang.
KwaDukuza-born Khuzwayo tried his best as he caught Ndwandwe with some beautiful blows. However, it was Ndwandwe’s hand, which was raised in the end.
Following the win, Ndwandwe improved his record to five wins with one knockout while Khuzwayo dropped to seven victories with five stoppages, a loss and a draw.
Meanwhile, fighting for the first time since he was beaten by Filipino boxers Dave Apolinario four years ago, Gideon ‘Hardcore’ Buthelezi lost to Jackson ‘M3’ Chauke in a fight, which pitted former world champions against each other.
Chauke, a former International Boxing Organisation (IBO) flyweight titlist, got the nod from all three judges. Lusanda Shweni had Chauke winning by 55-59 while the former South African flyweight champion won by 56-58 on both Riaan Janse van Rensburg and Thabo Spampool’s score cards.
Other results:
Matthew Petersen defeated Tshegofatso Matlala via a majority points decision
Tumelo Mphahlele beat Luke Hendrikz by a fifth round technical knockout
Simnikiwe Bongco defeated Denis Mwale on points via a unanimous points decision
Liam Fox won by a fourth round TKO against Dino Malajika
Gary van Staden beat Niclas Nzengu by a second round TKO
Kaine Fourie defeated Faraday Mukandila by a third round TKO
