Boxing News Boxing News
Two of South Africa’s top boxers clashed in a rematch last night at Carnival City in Brakpan with Jeffrey Mathebula walking away with Takalani Ndlovu’s IBF super bantam belt.
The pair first tangled in 2010, also at Carnival City, with Ndlovu winning an IBF title eliminator over Mathebula by split decision but this time the decision went against the Soweto man.
Once the bell rang last evening, Mathebula immediately looked to take things out of the judge’s hands, swinging for the fences with nearly every effort but the seasoned Ndlovu showed excellent composure avoiding the Brakpan resident’s bombs.
The champion showed superb countering skills in the early going, picking off Mathebula with neat combinations but the constant movement required to pull this off seemed to tire Ndlovu by the middle rounds.
Mathebula took advantage of this opportunity to relentlessly pressure Ndlovu, outworking the champion down the stretch in what turned out to be a very entertaining contest.
After 12 rounds, Mathebula won two of the cards, 117-111 and 116-112 while Ndlovu won the third, 115-113, to lose his IBF crown.
Mathebula wins his first world title three years after dropping a split decision for the WBA and IBF crowns to Celestino Caballero, improving to 26-3-2 (14), while Ndlovu descends to 33-7 (18), after making one successful title defense.
South African lightweight champion Thompson Mokwana, 14-4 (8), won another rematch on the bill, posting a hard fought split decision verdict against veteran slugger Patrick Malinga, 27-8-2 (24), the man he dethroned a year ago.
