Boxing is back! Thysse stops Allen to win 4@War shootout

Professional boxing made a welcome return on Saturday evening in the five-fight Back4Battle card in a bio-secure, empty arena at Emperors Palace, east of Johannesburg.

It turned into an evening during which the judges ringside were barely called upon to sign off a complete scorecard.

Brandon Thysse vs Boyd Allen

Thysse (14-2-1) emerged as the overall winner of the 4@War junior-middleweight shootout when he stopped previously unbeaten Allen (5-1-1) in the final second of the third round.

It was a profitable night’s work for the 26-year-old, who walked away with the lion’s share of a R750 000 purse (60%) and a commemorative diamond ring, as well as strapping the WBA Pan-African and IBO All Africa belts around his waist.

In a scrappy affair which certainly would have horrified the boxing purists, Thysse attempted to exert pressure from the opening bell on former MMA exponent Allen, but had to contend with a spoiler who attempted to cramp his style and prevent him from getting on the inside by persistently holding and clinching.

Thysse tried desperately to box from range and use his height and reach advantage against an awkward opponent who constantly switched between the orthodox and southpaw stance, but things just got messy and looked more like a wrestling match at times.

After a number of warnings directed at Allen from referee Jaap van Niewenhuizen to stop holding, Thysse eventually freed his arms deep into the third and rocked Allen’s head back with a vicious left hook which buckled his legs.

Allen regained his feet to take the mandatory standing eight count, but Van Niewenhuizen rightfully, and much to Allen’s disenchantment, counted him out as both his hands were still resting on the top rope.

Allen’s trainer Peter Smith was adamant that the experienced referee had stopped the bout too early, and had not instructed his fighter to step away from the ropes, fists raised, ready to resume battle.

Rourke Knapp vs Tristan Truter

In the main supporting bout on the Golden Gloves card, Knapp (11-9-1-1) comfortably sewed up third place in the 4@War junior middleweight shootout with a second-round technical knockout victory over Truter.

The tall, rangy Truter (10-8-2), out of Harold Volbrecht’s Hammer Gym in Boksburg, looked comfortable initially, boxing from behind his jab, and strung together some useful combinations to shade the opening round.

Knapp sized his man up in the second, however, before initiating a savage barrage, tagging Truter with a big left-hook and rocking him with a succession of massive punches, before sealing the deal with a savage right.

Referee Simon Xamlashe didn’t need a second look and waved the bout over without a count just 62 seconds into the round.

Lebo Mashitoa vs Keaten Gomes

In the only bout on the five-fight card that went to the scorecards, Mashitoa (9-8-1) out-boxed Gomes (9-7-2) to earn a unanimous points decision (100-89, 99-90 an 87-92) in the first semifinal of a cruiserweight shootout.

But even then, the three assigned ringside officials didn’t need to work very hard or over-extend themselves.

Mashitoa, the impeccably groomed Sebastiaan Rothmann-trained southpaw made it easy for them and impressed with his high work-rate, landed the cleaner punches and constantly pierced Gomes’ guard with stinging close-range all-handed combinations.

Gomes was very tentative and put his height and reach advantage to very little use, allowing Mashitoa to stay on the offensive throughout and string together some powerful combinations to pile up the points.

Jabulani Makhensi vs Eric Kapia (DRC)

Rothmann’s bright up-and-coming welterweight prospect, Makhensi, needed very little time to dispatch his vastly more experienced opponent, DRC-born Kapia (27-22-3-2), stretching his professional record to 10-0 with a clinical first-round TKO win.

Makhensi strapped the WBA Pan-African belt around his waist by dropping his opponent three times in the opening round before the referee called a halt as the bell sounded to end the round.

Cowin Ray vs Karabo Mokupi

In the early undercard fight, super-middleweight Ray (6-0) made a successful return to the ring after a lengthy period of inactivity due to personal issues, with a clinical second round knockout victory over Mokupi (6-2-4).

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.