'We lost to a better fighter'

Trainer Colin Nathan has no qualms about the points loss by his charge Simphiwe "Chain Reaction" Konkco to reigning WBC straw weight king Wanheng Menayothin in Thailand on Friday.

That is purely because the champion, who fought at home, is the star who remains undefeated after 54 fights. He broke the record of Floyd Mayweather Junior, which is 50-0.

Wanheng completely outthought Konkco, the mandatory challenger, and even dropped him in the round seven - to amass a lop-sided points win. Scores in Thailand were 118-109; 117-110 and 116-111. The win was Menyathin's 12th defence of the WBC belt he won in 2014.

"No excuses; we lost to a better man," said Nathan, who flew out of Thailand immediately after the fight to Germany where his other charge, Ryno "Lion" Liebenberg, failed in his attempt to dethrone Nick Hannig as the WBC International light heavyweight champion on Saturday.

Nathan said: "The most reflective scorecard against Konkco was the 116-111. With the knockdown in round seven on the bell," he said about the round which Konkco lost by 10-8 after being down. Konkco from Ngangelizwe in Mthatha suffered his sixth defeat in 26 fights.

Regarding Liebenberg's loss to the man that beat him in their first fight, also in Germany in July, Nathan said he has already written a formal letter of complaint to the hierarchy of the WBC about the handling of the fight Ryno lost by 114-113 and 115-112 (twice).

It is understood that Liebenberg had Hannig in trouble in the 12th round and the referee called the two fighters to break away from each other and conducted a standing eight count.

But a source said WBC rules stipulates that there is no standing eight count, which means stop the fight if the feeling is that a boxer is in trouble or wait until he falls.

Nathan fully understands that the decision cannot be reversed but an immediate rematch would best be suited in this circumstances.