SA boxer crowned WBF Junior Middleweight International Champ

The South African boxer, Frans Ramabolu, got the crowd whistling and clapping hands as he threw hot punches at the Congolese international, Stanic Apuno, during the WBF Junior Middleweight International title fight at Sun Meropa on Friday night.

POLOKWANE – The South African boxer, Frans Ramabolu, got the crowd whistling and clapping hands as he threw hot punches at the Congolese international, Stanic Apuno, during the WBF Junior Middleweight International title fight at Sun Meropa on Friday night.

The fight between the two rivals swept the crowd off their feet and left them asking for more. After 12 intense rounds of fighting, Ramabolu was crowded the WBF Junior Middleweight International Champion.

The three judges awarded him a total of 350 points – the first judge gave him 117 points, while the second and third judges scored him 116 and 117 points, respectively. Apuno got 112 points from the first judge, and 112 and 111 points from the second and third judges which gave him a total of 335 points.

The last round of the fight saw Ramabolu clinching on to his opponent to avoid hot blows which might have cost him the title, but Apuno received a lot of punches from his opponent and this made him lose the fight.

The technical teams of the two fighters exchanged harsh words when the referee was about to announce the winner. Harry Ramogoadi Manaka, Ramabolu’s coach, and Nick Duraundt, Apuno’s coach, were in the centre of the ring with their fists in the air preparing to start their own fight which was not on the list of the evening’s programmes.

Apuno, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, received a hiding for most of the first half of the bout as Ramabolu stormed into a comprehensive lead. But the one-way traffic changed direction in the 12th round as Apuno suddenly found himself on the end of a beating.

In the other fights, Clautos Mbele won the WBF Junior Lightweight International title with a technical knockout (TKO) after his opponent, Mxolisi Nombewu, could not continue fighting due to a shoulder dislocation. The fight between the two contenders only took one minute and five seconds. There were rumours in the crowd claiming Nombewu faked the injury since Mbele gave him enough sucker punches and pitied the referee who could not buy his act and declared the fight over.

In the vacant Limpopo Junior Welterweight title fight two boxers from the province faced each other in the ring. Norman Chisikawe bumped heads with Humbulani Netshamushedzi for this title. The fight went on until the ninth round when Netshamushedzi decided to call it quits due to exhaustion. This granted Chisikawe a green light to walk away with the title. Chisikawe won the fight with a technical knockout (TKO).

The boxing tournament held by the Limpopo Boxing Promotion was attended by President of the World Boxing Federation (WBF), Howard Goldberg.

Goldberg said boxing promoters in Limpopo should build a strong bond with relevant departments and roleplayers to grow the sport in the province.

When asked what makes a good boxer, Howard had this advice: “Dedication, natural talent, discipline, hard work and willingness to learn. There is a lot of talent in Limpopo but I think the province still need people who can invest in the sport.”

Josias Maphepha, tournament promoter, confirmed the sport of boxing is growing slowly but surely in the province. He stays committed to promote boxing and eventually produce the best boxers. He added the tournament was a success.

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