The camp of East London boxer Aphiwe Mboyiya has attributed his failure to seize the SA lightweight title to the denied knockout win over Tshifiwa Munyai.
Mboyiya lost a controversial split decision to Munyai in their title clash in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, last Friday.
Poor SA boxing officiating reared its head once again when Mboyiya’s knockout of Munyai in the third round was not called.
Mboyiya dropped Munyai hard and the defending champion appeared to have failed to beat the count as the referee waved his hands signalling the end of the fight.
By that time Munyai was staggering towards the ropes, which he grabbed to prevent himself from falling again.
However, the fight was allowed to continue, robbing Mboyiya of a knockout victory.
One of the judges acknowledged his aggression by awarding him the fight with a 116-113 margin but was overruled by 114-113 and 116-114 scorecards.
Mboyiya’s trainer, Kholisile “KC” Cengani, bemoaned the denied knockout, saying it had adversely affected his charge.
“We were told in the rules meeting before the fight that if a boxer uses ropes to support himself after a knockout he would be counted out,” Cengani said.
“And the referee appeared to be applying that call when he waved his hands to signal that the fight was over. But to our surprise, the fight was allowed to continue.”
The questionable call once again spoiled what was an excellent fight, following in the footsteps of other controversial decisions which have blighted the sport lately.
In December, Cristiano Ndombassy was denied a stoppage win over Roarke Knapp when he dropped him three times in the third, which should have automatically earned him a victory as per the WBA rules as they were contesting for the continental title of the world body.
Ndombassy later quit in the fight, claiming that he knew that whatever he did, he was not going to be given the win.
And a fortnight ago in East London, Jackson Chauke was declared the loser of his SA flyweight crown to challenger Phumelela Cafu despite two judges scoring it a draw, which should have allowed Chauke to retain the title.
Boxing SA hastily corrected the outcome by declaring the outcome a draw, allowing Chauke to retain his title.
Cengani said the spate of controversial decisions was making it hard to determine the outcome of fights in the ring.
“Now it is becoming harder to prepare for a fight in the ring because there are other factors affecting the fight.
“It now seems that even if a boxer wins by a knockout he still will not win the fight.”
Mboyiya was bidding for a third national title in as many divisions, having reigned in the featherweight and junior lightweight.
Cegani commended his boxer’s gutsy performance despite committing a few mistakes during the fight.
“Like in any fight mistakes do happen, but I am proud of how my boxer performed under the circumstances.
“He is also in good spirits because he knows that he gave his all.
“We will bounce back from this setback.”
DispatchLIVE
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