Coetzee toys with opponent

The evening also provided an opportunity for Deon Coetzee to confirm his unbeaten record over Khayeni Hlongwane when the two met in the headline bout over six rounds. It was the fourth meeting between the two cruiserweights.

In the end though, it proved to be a lopsided points win for Coetzee as he got his new relationship with trainer Nick Durandt off to a winning start.

Coetzee appeared content to go the distance, even though he appeared to be capable of ending the fight whenever he pleased especially when dropping Hlongwane in the third round.

But the judges were called into action at the end of the contest with two scores of 59-54 and one of 57-56, worrying when taking into account that Coetzee dominated throughout, to hand the Durandt-trained fighter a unanimous points win.

Sbusiso Zingange pulled off the upset of the night as he claimed a unanimous points decision over Nkosinathi Nthshangase when the two junior-lightweights met over six rounds. The fight swung in the eventual winner’s favour when he scored a knockdown in the second round, and the judges saw fit to award him scores of 58-55, 56-52 and 60-53.

There was also a unanimous points decision for Lyanda Nkosi as he did enough to impress the judges in his lightweight contest against Tshifiwa Munyai, while Ladumo Lamati claimed a unanimous points win over Bongani Bhuti in a catchweight bout over four rounds.

Newcomer Joshua Studdard claimed the only knockout victory of the evening when he stopped Linda Sifundza in the third round of their flyweight encounter. Sifundza was on the deck at 2:55 as Studdard applied pressure as his opponent recovered from a knockdown.