Lerena vs Muller brawl steals the show
"We have our first big tournament on March 21 and then once again we will present a formidable bill.”
AS “Top Guns” boxing tournament marked the last major one for 2014. It was also heart-warming to see that boxing can still pull a full house. Though the attendance of one of the most spoken by codes of sport still doesn’t draw crowds over the 5 000 mark as it did in the past, there are still local boxers who have the ability to set the frame for their fans‘ imagination to do the fighting for them alongside the ring.
Top Guns tournament was held on Saturday November 15 at Emperors Palace and presented by Golden Gloves Boxing Promotions.
“We have our first big tournament on March 21 and then once again we will present a formidable bill,” said Rodney Berman, CEO of Golden Gloves Promotions. Ryno Liebenberg posted a challenge to Tommy Oosthuizen after he won the fight against Denis Grachez for the WBC International All light-heavyweight title, to face him. “It’s no secret that these two have long wanted to fight each other. I initially held off because they were going in separate directions, but circumstances have changed and it’s the right time to make the fight. Ryno needs a good performance to bounce back from Monte Carlo, and Tommy could benefit by waging a war with his big rival for local bragging rights.”
Berman also took heart from the performance of Johnny Muller and Kevin Lerena, who staged a mini-classic. Muller’s performance came from his heart and produced good boxing technique, especially on the defending side. Lerena was never going to break through his defensive methods, but on a couple of occasions he managed to rock Muller in his socks. Lerena on the other hand has to rely on becoming the more rounded boxer instead of relying on his great punching power.
This fight was for obvious reasons the fight of the night and overshadowed the two world title fights. Muller broke Lerena’s clean sheet, winning by a point’s decision 97/93, 97/93, 98/92.
Coming back to the main fight of the evening, in which Oosthuizen featured against Grachev, both boxers displayed good skills. But it was Ooshuizen who overshadowed the Russian-born boxer fighting out of the Chris Byrd-camp from the USA.
And, yes, Oosthuizen is back in the ring, displaying his hand speed and good boxing skills, but will now have to prove that he can make it in another more competitive weight division after moving up a division. He won the title by a TKO win at the end of the 11th round against Grachev.
As per WBC rules, he was up on two cards after the fourth and eighth rounds, the one judge somehow seeing the protagonists level on both occasions. Chris Byrd pulled out his boxer after the 11th. It was the right thing to do; there is no shame in losing to a better man.
In the other title fight of the evening, Ali Funeks walked away with the IBO welterweight world crown, beating Roman Belaev from Russia. The fight was stopped at the opening of the 12th round and the judges went to the 11th round to determine the score. Funekea won by points 105/104, 105/104, 109/100. The visitor was pulled out on the advice of the ringside doctor on account of a cut above his right eye sustained in the last quarter of the fight. It was a cruel blow for Belaev, who had a good boxing plan to fight the much taller Funeka and would have been gutted to lose his 14-fight unbeaten record.
In the opener of the evening Mbulelo Mxazonke fought Thabang Ramagole in the junior flyweight division over eight rounds. Ramagole was once touted as the next big thing, but he lost his route along the rounds and to everyone’s surprise lost the fight. Mxazonke won the bout by TKO in the fifth 1:28.
The next end-of-the-year spectacle will be the Christmas Cracker presented by AfricanRing in conjunction with Golden Gloves Promotions and Emperors Palace. Make sure to book your seat with Jeff Ellis.
