Mchunu and Makitinca shine as ‘Knockout Chaos’ delivers R125 000 in bonuses

It was ‘Knockout Chaos’ indeed, as Aquilla Boxing Promotions’ (ABP) first tournament of the year delivered stoppages galore at the Galleria in Sandton on Saturday night.

Of the eight events, five produced knockouts as the boxers cashed in on the ‘Knockout Clock’ bonuses provided by the various sponsors who partnered with Kevin Lerena’s ABP for this exciting innovation. With a first-round stoppage earning a boxer R30,000, a second-round win R25 000, and the money cascading by R5 000 with every round, it was not surprising that the boxers went for the kill from the onset.

Only one fight delivered a first-round knockout, with the veteran Thabiso Mchunu making light work of his Namibian opponent, Kareb Shitama, in their international cruiserweight contest in the night’s sixth bout. Out of action for a while, Mchunu showed no ring rustiness against a man whose previous fight in South Africa had lasted a mere nine seconds, when Shitama was stopped by Juan Alberts.

There were three second-round stoppages, with Simphiwe Bongco, Tiisetso Makitinca, and Gary van Staden each banking a cool R25 000 for their victories over Ntanganedzeni Mohane, Sabelo Cebekhulu, and Mxolisi Lahliwe, respectively.

The referee stopped the fight to rescue Mohane deep into the second round as Bongco pummelled him with numerous punches. Youngster and arguably the brightest prospect in the land, Tiisetso Makitinca, lived up to his promise of delivering a second-round knockout, taking his record to a perfect 10 as he smashed the highly experienced Cebekhulu to the canvas.

Van Staden silenced Lahliwe, who had spoken confidently about his plans to stop the man who calls himself G-Unit. The referee stopped the fight in the second round to Lahliwe’s anger, although his corner appeared to agree with the official’s decision.

One fight lasted just three rounds, with Kaine Fourie getting the better of Bilal Johnson. Referee Thabo Spampool halted proceedings a second before the end of the round to save the Durbanite further punishment from the relentless Fourie, who lived up to his nickname, K9.

The evening had begun somewhat cautiously with teenager Alexander Meyer outpointing Musawakhe Mncwabe 40-37, while two judges gave him a 39-37 victory.

The other fight that went to the scorecards was the exciting super-middleweight match-up between former sparring partners John Bopape and Leo Carreri in a classic case of youth versus experience. Carreri stole the fight to take his promising record to 3-0 as he outpointed the veteran Bopape 59-55 and 57-56, despite having been dropped during the fight.

The main fight of the night was a damp squib of a contest; Congolese Youssuf Mwanza gave nothing in his clash against Keaton Gomez, who won unanimously by scores of 59-54 and 60-53 (twice).

At the end of the evening, ABP and their sponsors paid out R125,000 in bonuses for the five knockouts that personified Knockout Chaos 1.