Thabiso Mchunu vowed there would be no repeat.
Revenge was on his mind, and revenge is what he got as he pounded Tommy Oosthuizen in as superb a display of boxing as there’s been in a South African ring, at Emperors Palace on Saturday night.
Mchunu was up on his toes, oozing confidence, as he took the fight to the taller Oosthuizen, whipping in slashing left hands that bamboozled his fellow southpaw in their cruiserweight rematch.
Gone was Oosthuizen’s slick movement and sharp jab, replaced by a laissez faire attitude and an inability to adjust to Mchunu’s swarming game.
Frankly, Mchunu has never boxed better and “Tommy Gun” has never looked worse.
Unlike their first fight in September, this one wasn’t remotely close. Mchunu led on the scorecards after the first four, continued his dominance after eight (80-72, 79-73, 79-73) and wrapped it up with a dominant trifecta: 119-109, 118-111, 119-111.
It brought Mchunu back into the cruiserweight picture in a big way, while Oosthuizen will have to have a long, hard think about where he wants to go. He is an outlandish talent, but on the evidence of Saturday, complacency and laziness look to have strangled his talent.
Mchunu pressed from the off and by the third was landing heavily. He probably couldn’t believe his luck after Oosthuizen proved so elusive three months ago, his punches landing often.
Oosthuizen’s machismo meant he stood and traded inside with Mchunu, a poor strategy given Mchunu’s excellent game at short range. The slow-footed champion was suckered into fighting Mchunu’s fight and simply never adjusted, getting nailed by shots he should never have.
Oosthuizen was uncharacteristically sloppy and paid for his nonchalance by eating a ton of leather. Indeed, his biggest virtue in the 12-rounder might well have been his chin.
Mchunu’s output was much better than the first time they fought and he boxed with some style to break Oosthuizen down. By the 10th, “Tommy Gun” looked spent of energy and ideas, his timing having gone the way of his ambition.
Mchunu banged away relentlessly and when his arm was raised at the popular casino venue, there wasn’t a murmur of dissent.
Revenge had been ever so sweet.
‘Tulz’ tees off
In the co-main event, IBO welterweight champion Thulani Mbenge took his time before dismantling the challenge of Mexico’s Miguel Vazquez in the first defence of his championship.
The South African started hot, coasted through the middle rounds and then dropped the bomb in the ninth with a sickening body shot that signalled the end of Vasquez’s energetic challenge. Vazquez made it through the round, but decided that discretion was the better part of valour and opted not to come out of his corner for the 10th.
Both started fast, but Mbenge was quicker, although they both settled into a comfortable rhythm, looking for openings. Mbenge looked best when he attacked the body, his faster, slicker punching catching the eye of the judges.
Vazquez was as tough as advance warnings had predicted and the canny old warrior knew how to look after himself as it gradually dawned on him that Mbenge had his measure. He held and he pivoted and occasionally had success with his attack, but without real power, he had little means of stopping the onslaught. When the end came, it was confirmation that his best wasn’t enough.
It was an important win for Mbenge, who has ambitions of cracking the American market. With more experience, he just might.
Dlamini shocks SA champ Groth
Walter Dlamini came into his fight against SA middleweight champion Wade Groth with hope and a prayer, little more.
Few gave him a chance of upsetting the unbeaten Groth, but he had other things on his mind as he put caution to one side and threw bombs from the bell. Not known as an especially big puncher, the key was his accuracy. He stunned Groth with a succession of rights and lefts and went in for the finish.
Either frozen by the assault or unaware of how to respond, Groth simply stood his ground rather than getting on his bike. The result was a brutal first-round knockout that validated Dlamini’s claims as a worthy challenger and exposed Groth’s inability to cover up and move when his championship depended on it.
Gomes gets win #4
In an entertaining heavyweight fight, unbeaten Keaton Gomes showed good maturity and patience as he studiously broke Warren le Roux down.
Gomes set traps along the way and enjoyed a good workout against the bigger, heavier man. It was like the matador against the old bull as Gomes bust him up, bloodied his nose and then teed off.
Le Roux was game for the match, but Gomes’ punches had sting and when the end came in the third – via TKO – Le Roux had no complaints.
Allen bangs out Mulder
Junior-middleweight Boyd Allen looked most impressive as he knocked out experienced Wynand Mulder in the third.
Quite apart from boxing well stylistically, Allen’s finish was poised and powerful, a short right-hand punch clipping Mulder and leaving him reeling.
Allen had been quicker moving in and out and he mixed up his attack by switch-hitting. He took his time looking for openings and when it came, in the third, he was savage in his execution.
On this form, his reputation as a crowd-puller was advanced and expectations are that he’ll have a eventful 2019 as he continues to be busy.
Earlier, Ricardo Malajika dominated his walkout bout against Teboho Makwala, ending matters in their junior-bantamweight fight in the first round.
It’s early days for the hot Anton Gilmore protégé, but matching the former amateur standout is going to get difficult as his reputation grows.
