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Mthalane lives up to expectations

ON THE MONEY: IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane with trainer Nick Durandt. Photo: Gallo Images
ON THE MONEY: IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane with trainer Nick Durandt. Photo: Gallo Images

TOP trainer Nick Durandt predicted last month that Moruti Mthalane would retain his IBF flyweight title in Panama at the weekend but there were many sceptics.

That was probably because Durandt's past predictions were wildly inaccurate. But Doubting Thomases were forced to eat humble pie last weekend because it went precisely according to Durandt's predictions at the Arena Roberto Duran in Panama City.

Mthalane, a pressure fighter with a mauling attack, stopped mandatory challenger Ricardo Nunez in the eighth round.

Mthalane dropped Nunez in the first round but the Panamanian sent Mthalane to the canvas in round three.

Durandt made it clear before jetting off to Panama last week that Mthalane was a road warrior whose only defeat outside SA was caused by a laceration inside the eye against then IBF champion Nonito Donaire in Las Vegas on November 1 2008.

Donaire moved up the weight division and the title became vacant. The IBF sanctioned Mthalane to oppose Mexican Julio Ceasar Miranda for the vacant title. Mthalane won the title at Joburg's Wembley Arena on November 20 2009.

He went on to stop both Zolani Tete and Johnriel Casimero in the fifth rounds in 2010 and last year, respectively, in South Africa before travelling to Italy where he stopped Andrea Sarritzu in the seventh round on October 28 last year.

His stoppage win against Nunez was his fourth in four defences. The 29-year-old right-hander improved to 20 KOs from 29 wins against two losses, while Nunez, 24, suffered his third stoppage from as many losses against 24 wins (20 Kos).

Meanwhile Mthalane's stablemate Tete suffered an unlucky defeat against Roberto Domingo Sosa in the IBF junior bantamweight title eliminator in Argentina, also on Sunday. All three judges' cards read 115-114 and that suggests that Tete could have been pulled by his pants.

In another IBF-sanctioned fight, in Mexico, Mario Rodriguez produced a huge upset when he stopped defending mini-flyweight champion Nkosinathi Joyi in the seventh round. Rodriguez was a dark horse.

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