On Saturday, October 5, in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa, World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental Flyweight Champion Doctor Ntsele made a successful first defense of his crown when he scored a unanimous decision over fellow countryman Motswaki Moselesele.
This was a rematch of their October 2012 fight which Ntsele won by technical knockout in the twelfth and final round in a defense of his South African national title, and just like in the original encounter these two put on a very entertaining and competitive show.
For twelve rounds, Ntsele and Moselesele went toe-to-toe and often had the crowd on their feet in appreciation of the action. The challenger came out strong in the first few rounds, but sheer aggression and work rate put the skillful champion on top in the second half of the fight.
In the end both fighters received a standing ovation from the fans at ringside, but judges Phillip du Randt, Freddie Makhatini and Simon Mokadi didn’t have any doubt as to who deserved to win, scoring the contest 117-110 (twice) and 116-111. Referee in charge was Alfred Buqwana.
Managed by South African boxing icon and former world champion Lehlo Ledwaba, Doctor Ntsele, real first name being Themba, improved his professional record to 17-5-1 (11) and will now be looking at a possible shot at the WBF World title, while Moselesele drops to 12-7-1 (5) and must return to the drawing board.
The fight was promoted by Lebo Mahoko.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
