Mchunu should've avoided Ohio 'robbery' via KO win

Patriotism aside, South Africans can be justified in their feeling that Thabiso “The Rock” Mchunu was unfairly pulled by his pants in a fight he looked to have won by a razor margin due to its closeness against Ilunga Makabu at the weekend.

Mchunu was robbed because American promoter Don King, who staged the WBC cruiserweight fight at WD Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio, had to look after Makabu, who is on the books of his business. Ohio is the flamboyant promoter's home state. 

Two judges scored it 115-113 either way and the telling score was 116-112 in favour of the defending champion from Kananga, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo whose corner was manned by Joburg trainer Damien Durandt.

Fellow SA trainer Colin Nathan also believes Mchunu was robbed.

“I honestly thought Mchunu won the fight,” Nathan said.

He added: “But, hey, he’s only got himself to blame for what happened because he did not press the action hard enough to convince the judges. I understand why it was a spilt decision and why they went for Makabu because you had one fighter wanting to win the rounds more in pressing the action and that’s the champion. On the other hand, the challenger was fighting on the back foot, landing effective punches but not putting enough combinations together.”

However, female boxer Simangele Hadebe saw it differently and endorsed Makabu's win.

“To Mchunu, I would like say I would [have] preferred more work to show that he wanted this fight to be in his favour; the best man won,” she said.

Mchunu had a number of chances to stop Makabu but he did not take advantage of situations favouring him to do it all by himself rather than put his faith in the hands of judges.

Mchunu’s punches troubled Makabu all the time they landed but strangely he held back. He needed to go in for the jugular in one of the rounds and fire a fusillade of punches and today he would be the WBC cruiserweight champion.