Saturday, 25 March 2017, Singapore –
The World Boxing Council (WBC) World Silver Welterweight champion Charles Manyuchi suffered an ignominious defeat when he was knocked out in the first round of a prestigious event at the Singapore Sports Hub - OCBC Arena. The highly-touted Zimbabwean champion, who had before the fight, predicted that he would easily beat the challenger -- Uzbekistan’s rising star Qudratillo ‘The Punisher’ Abduqaxorov – found himself dumped on the canvas after being sent into the ropes by powerful uppercuts. He failed to make the count. The spectators could hardly believe their eyes as the Manyuchi- Abduqaxorov encounter -- billed as an “Asia vs Africa” showdown with all the intensity and pound-for-pound excitement that can be expected when two continents collide – came to an abrupt end in 2 min 56 seconds. In a post-fight media conference, a chastened Manyuchi, 27, who boasts a career of 20 wins, 12 by KO, 2 losses and 1 draw, said he had prepared well for the fight and that he had lost to a worthy champion. His manager, Christopher Malunga was more forthright. “It was a sucker punch We are not taking anything away from the new champion. But Manyuchi was a bit careless. He should not have adopted that style of his in the first round.” Malunga was referring to Manyuchi’s predilection to drop his gloves to tempt his opponent to come forward and try to hit him. “It was too early in the fight to do that. Maybe he would have started doing that in the second round,” said Malunga. In the end, Manyuchi paid the price when Abduqaxorov, a 23-year-old with just 10 wins under his belt, caught him on the chin not once but twice. Malunga said it was a learning experience and “we will have to go back to the drawing board” – hopefully to be ready should a rematch becomes a possibility. In the fight cards leading to the main draw, Singaporean boxers showed they were a force to be reckoned with when both Hamzah Farouk and Darryl Edmund Kho won their bouts handily. Hamzah, 29, who trained at the famed Elorde’s gym in Quezon City in the Philippines for this fight, showed vastly superior skills forcing his opponent to his knees with flurry of blows from the opening bell. As his bewildered Thai opponent Tapanut Loetsingtaworn retreated to a corner before an advancing Hamzah, the referee stepped in and stopped the lightweight fight in just 2 min 7 seconds Said Hamzah after the fight: “My good performance tonight was a result of the rigorous training I had to go through in the Philippines. All I did was eat, sleep and breathe boxing. On the first day, I did circuit training and it was twice as hard as what I am used to in Singapore.” The 32-year old Kho, who made his pro debut kept up a steady barrage of blows to beat Malaysian Ridzuan Dahari in the light heavyweight category with a technical knockout. The referee stopped the fight in the third of four rounds. Kho, who has a background in martial arts, attacked relentlessly. Ridzuan put up a game fight but wilted under the heavy onslaught. In another exciting encounter, crowd favourite Azizbek ‘AAA’ Abdugofurov of Uzbekistan punished Martin Fidel Rios of Argentina with his lightning quick fists throughout their 10-round but Rios, ever the game fighter, prevailed. The other Thai boxer in the night’s action fared worse in the super lightweight category. Champee Payom was knocked out in 2 min 13 seconds of the first round when he came up against the superior talent of Indonesian fighter Daud ‘Cino’ Yordan, the WBA interim lightweight world champion. In the other title fight of the night – the Asian Boxing Federation super bantam weight clash – rising Filipino star Jeson ‘Dynamite Fists’ Umbal traded punch for punch with his equally talented opponent, Tanzanian Fadhili Majiha. It was a close encounter between two fighters in excellent shape, oozing plenty of classic boxing skills. The entertaining fight went the distance and was won by Umbal on a split decision. (courtesy of Cartel International Promotions)
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