Duncan Village star Azinga Fuzile underwent a medical check-up after suffering a shoulder injury during his debatable points win over Asanda Gingqi in their highly anticipated junior lightweight clash at KuGompo City’s Orient Theatre on Friday evening.
Fuzile escaped with a majority decision victory when two of the judges, Lulama Mtya and Simpiwe Mbini, voted for him by 97-94 and 98-93, while Thandi Ngodwana had it even at 95-95.
The outcome unleashed a controversy, with Gingqi’s Mdantsane camp crying robbery while others believed Fuzile was correctly adjudged the winner.
The general feeling was that Fuzile was in control of the fight until he suffered a cut from a headbutt, which turned his face crimson with blood in the eighth round and adversely affected his performance.
The contrasting styles of the two boxers, pitting Fuzile, a southpaw, against an orthodox opponent, resulted in them often clashing heads.
The first clash occurred in the fourth round, leaving Gingqi’s left eye almost closed, a round in which Fuzile’s camp said he suffered the shoulder injury.
His manager, Mla Tengimgene, who insisted the judges’ decision was spot on, said Fuzile could not throw his left, which is his money punch, after the fourth round.
“We had to take him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a tear in his shoulder muscle,” he said.
“Fortunately, the injury did not dislocate the shoulder, which could have been serious, so he was given tablets and ordered to rest.”
Tengimfene shot down calls for a rematch, saying it would not serve any purpose besides possibly subjecting his boxer to more injuries.
“Right now, we aim to guide Azinga to an international bout in August, possibly with a title at stake, as we plot his return to world ratings.”
Gingqi’s promoter, Ayanda Matiti, who staged the hugely successful tournament that drew a full house and left spectators without seats, said he would not lodge an official protest with Boxing SA regarding the outcome despite furiously criticising it in a post-fight television interview.
Matiti was slammed for openly siding with Gingqi when he was expected to be neutral as the promoter of the tournament.
He defended his remarks, saying he could not keep quiet when he believed his boxer had been victimised.
“I saw some people reacting negatively to my television interview, but as a promoter of Gingqi, I could not keep quiet when I felt he was done wrong,” he said.
“The issue of the officials has been a concern for a while, and until BSA amends some of the regulations, we will keep complaining.”
Though he lamented Gingqi’s loss, saying the fighter had worked hard in his preparations for the bout, he also shot down the possibility of a rematch.
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