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Last night on a Maloney Promotion at York Hall in London, England, Commonwealth Champion Tshifhiwa Munyai continued his march through the British bantamweight division with a sixth round stoppage over previously unbeaten southpaw sensation Lee Haskins on a televised Sky Sports broadcast.
Initially, Haskins leveraged his smaller size and advantage in quickness into successful forays inside Munyai’s guard but his best efforts had no effect on the young South African. The towering champion was missing wildly with his punches but as each moment passed, Munyai became increasingly accustomed to the shifty style of his English rival.
By the third frame it was Haskins, rather than Munyai, who was off the mark with wide, arcing efforts and the challenger was made to pay the price for his lack of offensive acumen. The frustration of Haskins was brought to light when the Bristol native initiated a brief exchange after the bell had sounded to end the third round.
The fourth belonged to the brave Commonwealth Flyweight titlist who boxed successfully off the back foot before closing to engage Munyai at short range. A bad omen for Haskins came in the form of the beginnings of a body attack from the South African that was to have a decisive effect on the contest.
The fifth session saw Munyai break down Haskins with an intense attack to the midsection before slamming home a hurtful right to the head of Haskins that shook the smaller fighter. Haskins refused to fold and came back with a bracing combination of his own but is beginning to look like a man being pulled offshore by a strong undertow.
The sixth round was a virtual replay of Munyai’s vicious dismantling of British Champion Martin Power this past July as the African visitor surged forward and assaulted Haskins with everything he had. The challenger fought back heartily but couldn’t reverse the trend and totally lost control of the fight.
Soon Haskins looked out on his feet and when he offers nothing in return to a smoking four punch combination from Munyai, referee Mickey Vann jumps in to stop the one sided hiding at 2:56 of the sixth round.
Afterward, a devastated Haskins told Sky Sports that he was surprised by the strength and speed of Munyai, who successfully records the first defense of his Commonwealth Bantamweight title.
In the final analysis it was another fine evening of boxing put on by Maloney Promotions, who will return to York Hall on 17 November with European Cruiserweight Champion David Haye meeting Giacobbe Fragomeni in an official WBC Title Eliminator.
For more information logo onto www.maloneypromotions.com
