Budler downs Sengprakhon in 43 seconds

Patrons and boxing fans barely had time top up their beverages on Saturday evening and former multiple world champion Hekkie Budler had put an end to his fight against 

Thailand’s Witchet Sengprakhon in the headline bout on the Boxing5 “Night of Champions’ card at the Unisa Conference Centre in Johannesburg.

Admittedly, the popular South African would have preferred a slightly longer workout at this juncture, but needed just 43 seconds in the opening round to dispatch his Thai opponent with a damaging left hook assault, first to the ribs and then a haymaker flush on the chin.

Sengprakhon was all at sea as he rose to his feet but referee Mfundo Mvandaba had seen enough and waved the fight over.

The WBC’s No 1 junior-flyweight contender, Budler, part of the No Doubt Management consortium, may have preferred a much tougher test ahead of his August showdown with WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine champion Kenshiro Teraj in Japan.

Budler’s long-time trainer Colin Nathan was pretty pragmatic in his assessment. “He did a camp, got in the ring, won and didn’t get hit. I’m pretty content with what went down. 

Light work

“Obviously I wanted it to go a few more rounds and didn’t expect a one-punch knockout, but it just shows the class and level that he has. He’s really world-class and I really believe he’s on his way to becoming champion of the world in August.”

Junior bantamweight Sikho Nqothole (now 17-2-11 knockouts) had the crown and his large entourage on their feet with a clinical, incisive knockout of Thai opponent Boonrueang Phayom in 2:59 of the first round.

ALSO READ: Alvarez batters Ryder to retain undisputed super middleweight crown

He dropped his man with a stinging straight right to the body, delivered a replica to drop him a second time and landed the coup-de-grace with a left-hook flush on the chin before referee Thabo Spampool waved it over.

In women’s action, ABU flyweight champion Simangele “Smash” Hadebe was rarely troubled and scored a workmanlike unanimous eight-round points victory over Phannaluk Kongsang of Thailand with the ringside judges scoring it 80-72, 78-74, and 79-75 in her favour.

Another of Nathan’s charges, Hedda “The Shredder” Wolmarans (8-0-5 kos) looked a touch rusty initially after a lengthy layoff in her first fight at welterweight, but found her groove very quickly to stop Zimbabwean veteran Monalisa Simon with a jarring left hook to the short rib in the third round.

Junior lightweight Cayden Truter must be well on course for Boxing SA’s Prospect-of-the-Year award after stopping KZN-based opponent Sandile Dlamini 2:25 into the second round.