It all went wrong for the South African in the eighth. Yabuki smashed a straight right flush to the jaw that sent Nontshinga staggering to the ropes. A follow-up barrage turned him sideways and to the canvas. After taking an eight count, the bell came to his rescue. Nontshinga took the fight to Yabuki in the ninth. The risk didn’t pay off. An uppercut-hook-right combination hurt the champion badly, and Yabuki just kept punching until Nontshinga crashed to the floor. Nontshinga dragged himself up again, but the writing was on the wall. The Japanese whirlwind was on him immediately, and a left hook followed by two rights sent his foe face- first to the canvas. The fight was waved over without a count at the 1:50 mark. Like Nontshinga, Yabuki is now a two-time world titleholder and deserves credit for a measured performance. It was a heartbreaking setback, but Nontshinga, who suffered his second loss, has accomplished a lot in a 15-fight career and he is still only 25. He’ll be back.
No need to listen to the decision; I knew I had lost.”
got close. The champion chopped away with hooks to the body. The fourth featured more exchanges. Tanaka had heavier hands and was the stronger of the two, but Cafu had the edge in hand speed and better defense. The challenger had his best moment in the fifth when he timed a charging Tanaka perfectly with a short right, dropping him face-first to the canvas. Tanaka was buzzed after getting up, but Cafu didn’t go for broke in the follow-up. By the seventh, Tanaka was out of the fog. He bit down and let his hands go. The tactic worked. Under a barrage of hooks and uppercuts to the body, Cafu went into a defensive shell and seemed on the verge of being overwhelmed. After receiving a hard talking-to from manager-trainer Colin Nathan, who performs the same role for Sivenathi Nontshinga, Cafu came out in the eighth and staged a rally of his own. That was the pattern for the rest of the fight – blistering exchanges. Tanaka attacked the body, Cafu with whipped shots through the champion’s guard. Both let it all hang out in the championship rounds. Tanaka’s heavier hands gave him an edge in the 11th, but Cafu dominated the first two
Tsutsumi was humble in victory. “I am totally satisfied right now,
so I’m not thinking about unification bouts, but I may deserve mention since I just beat Takuma Inoue, a big name in this division. Of course, the WBC bantamweight belt is attractive, but winning it would be the hardest job in this division. I would say I almost have no chance to win right now.” Tsutsumi has had many rounds of sparring with Nakatani already. After some sessions with the tall southpaw at Manny Robles’ gym in South Gate, California, this past May, he was honest in his assessment: “I am shocked to know that I still have this much of a gap to cover in order to reach his level.” Despite his modesty, a Nakatani showdown won’t be a mismatch if it’s made. We’ve seen that Tsutsumi’s energy and passion can lead to unpredictable results. With this brave newcomer, bantamweight remains Japan’s premier weight class and is ready to roll next year. SOUTH South African boxing went through a deep valley but also scaled a high mountain in a span of three days in Japan, October 12-14. Things didn’t go well for IBF junior flyweight titleholder Sivenathi Nontshinga, who faced the hard-hitting Masamichi Yabuki in Tokoname. After a tentative first round, Yabuki dictated the pace behind his jab, backing the champion to the ropes, working the body when he could. In the fifth round, Nontshinga found success when he targeted the body. Things heated up in the seventh. Yabuki ripped a left uppercut to the body while Nontshinga let his hands go on the inside. Yabuki was the stronger of the two, but Nontshinga was busier. AFRICA BY DROEKS MALAN
H H H
Then it was up to Phumelele Cafu , who entered the
minutes of the last round by punching nonstop. Tanaka
ring as a big underdog in Tokyo against WBO junior bantamweight
went for the knockout in the final seconds, winging hard shots with murderous intentions as the bell ended a terrific contest that didn’t deserve a loser. Cafu (11-0-3, 8 KOs) got the nod on two identical scorecards of 114-113; the third had it for Tanaka by the same score. It was an emotional victory for the South African in a very tough fight worthy of a rematch. After a long rest, of course. Droeks Malan is the South African correspondent for The Ring. You can follow him on Youtube at "Droeks on Boxing," reach out to him on X @droeksonboxing or email droeks@gmail.com.
titleholder Kosei Tanaka. Although
undefeated, Cafu had never fought abroad, nor had he faced anyone remotely as accomplished as the four- weight beltholder. He was about to tear up the script. In what began as a battle of jabs, Cafu decided to stand his ground and had success with his left hook in the center of the ring. Tanaka would not be denied, though, and the tenor of the bout switched to a firefight. Cafu worked his jab and scored with a hook-right combination when Tanaka
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