The East London boxing rivalry between Mthokozisi Ngxaka and Thinumzi Gqola in Johannesburg at the weekend has unleashed mixed reactions from both camps, with Ngxaka vowing to file an official protest over the outcome which favoured his adversary.
Ngxaka was declared a loser by split decision to surrender his SA mini-flyweight belt to Gqola in a see-saw encounter at the Portuguese Hall on Sunday.
Two judges voted for underdog Gqola with scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while the third had Ngxaka winning by a 116-112 margin.
Ngxaka’s camp, led by manager Mla Tengimfene, said he had deserved to win, especially after bludgeoning Gqola around the ring in the 12th and last round, nearly forcing a stoppage.
Despite Ngxaka’s dominance, one judge allegedly scored the round for Gqola, prompting Tengimfene to protest with Boxing SA to review the fight with a specific focus on the judge’s scoring over the entire fight.
“We are still getting to the bottom of this judge, whom I do not want to mention at the moment, to see how he managed to score the 12th round for Gqola when everyone saw that he did not win it,” he said.
“We also want BSA to review the whole fight by inviting independent judges to score it as enshrined in the Act.”
However, Gqola’s camp laughed off the protest, insisting he had won fair and square, albeit admitting his near stoppage in the last round.
His trainer, Ncedo Cecane, said the game plan had been to get off to a good start and bank the early rounds while Ngxaka was still trying to find his rhythm.
“We put pressure on him from the start to force him to fight catch-up down the stretch, knowing he would be desperate and make mistakes,” he said.
“Yes, he had a big round in the 12th, but you do not win one round to win a fight.
“There is a reason an SA title bout is scheduled for 12 rounds.”
Cecane confirmed that he had heard of the protest lodged at BSA, but declined to comment on it besides saying his job was to guide his boxers to win in the ring, not in the boardroom.
The protest is a repeat of a similar occurrence when Cecane-trained title-holder Xolisa Magusha was declared the winner over future Tengimfene boxer Siyakholwa Kuse in 2019.
Kuse protested against the outcome with BSA siding with him and ordering a rematch to Cecane’s chagrin, who said the decision was unjust to his charge.
However, Magusha had already committed to honouring a mandatory defence against Sibusiso Bandla, who dethroned him and inherited the BSA order to face Kuse.
Kuse destroyed Bandla in five one-sided rounds to take the title, which he relinquished to let Ngxaka succeed him.
Daily Dispatch
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