Boxer (24) fights his heart out
Boxer Mandla Simanga celebrated his well-deserved victory after making a strong and great comeback on July 17.
Bantamweight rising star Mandla Simanga left spectators at Auckland Park cheering after a nail-biting tight fight against Ndoyisile Blou.
In a fight scheduled for four rounds, Naturena’s Simanga, colloquially known as Mr Boxing, finished the fight in the third round.
Although his opponent was slightly taller, the 24-year-old determined boxer still dominated the ring.
This was his comeback fight after three years of being outside the ring and his first win in professional boxing. He had 36 fights in amateur and four fights in professional boxing.
He dominated the fight with a knockout win against Blou who refused to go down without a fight.
“The fight was not something new to me. I knew that I needed to take my time since I haven’t been in the ring for years and when I went in I wasn’t nervous at all. In the first round, my opponent was pretty quick. In round three, the plan was to give him a good body shot,” said Simanga.
Blou caught him with several shots as he tried to secure his win. He then put Simanga down twice in the second round and also defended himself.
“Although he was leading the fight, I came back and became too comfortable, which led to my victory. I won the fight after catching him towards the end of round three. I came back with a knockout. Although I was confident I would win, I didn’t expect to win that way and I appreciate coaches Riaz, Vusi and Zolani for being by my corner,” said Simanga.
He reiterated that boxing to him came as a calling and his love for the sport has grown hugely.
“I never wanted to do boxing and I didn’t grow up watching it. It found me when I was lost and about to take a wrong way of life. Now I’m just giving back to boxing because what I ever wanted from the sport I believe I have found,” he explained.
His boxing manager, Colleen McAusland said she was proud of Simanga for securing this win.
“After seemingly almost losing the fight, he came back to win on a very good knockout. He is a very dedicated and disciplined boxer and loves the sport. He is a great ambassador for boxing. He has got such a clean lifestyle. He lives and sleeps boxing,” she said.
