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Possible rematch for Sharadene 'Shinzo' Fortuin and Mellissa 'Honey Bee' Miller

Sharadene Fortuin had no influence in the scoring of the fight, and will not be punished.
Sharadene Fortuin had no influence in the scoring of the fight, and will not be punished.
Image: Supplied

Three judges have been found to have erred in their decision that favoured visibly beaten Sharadene “Shinzo” Fortuin against Mellissa “Honey Bee” Miller in their SA bantamweight championship fight in August.

Two of the three judges scored the fight 96-94 for Fortuin while their colleague declared it a draw at 95-95. Miller’s trainer Lucky Ramagole lodged a formal complaint with Boxing SA, which ordered a review of that taped fight. Three judges from Cape Town, East London and Gauteng – unanimously scored the 10-rounder which took place at Booysens Hall 96-94 in favour of Miller.

Fortuin cannot be punished, for she had no influence in the scoring of the fight which formed part of a tournament that staged to celebrate Women Month. Boxing SA must call for a rematch within 90 days from the day Fortuin was crowned.

In the event no promoter has shown interest in the fight, the authorities can call for a purse bid with the highest bidder getting the rights to organise it. But if that process does not bear fruits, Boxing SA can instruct the two boxers to meet in a neutral gym without spectators.

Ramagole said: “I am excited and I knew that neutral judges will see it this way. Our province (Gauteng) of late has become something; for a boxer to win a fight they must knockout out their opponents; this is something we had to contend with going outside our province, but it is happening here now.

“Look, a loss is a loss and I take it well in my strides but the decision against Mellissa in a fight everybody saw that she was the winner only to be denied a successful defence by the judges just irked me and I had to lodge a formal complaint. We worked so hard for that fight and we went in there knowing that our fast pace and relentless attack was going to be too much for Fortuin.” Indeed the pint-sized BSA prospect of the year in 2016 never took a step back. She dictated the terms of the complexion of the fight and her aggression was effective. Cleaner yet few punches came from the challenger but not enough to take the title away from Miller.

Trainer Harry Ramogoadi, who is responsible for Fortuin’s career, has no issues doing it all over again.

"We will abide by the rules,” he said. “Look, a lot of people said our win was not convincing. If we have to do it all over again so be it.”

BSA's acting CEO Cindy Nkomo said: “In line with Regulation 35 (20) the decision (to declare Fortuin the winner)  shall remain unchanged and the review outcome does not imply nor should it be interpreted as an indication of incorrect scoring by the judges who officiated during the fight.”

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