|
Kalakoda Promotions, the
well-established South African
promotional outfit, ventured
into Nigeria on Friday, October
26, and presented two World
Boxing Federation (WBF)
championship fights at a
packed-to-the-rafters Federal
Palace in Lagos.
“Chaos
in Lagos”, televised and
streamed by Kwesé Sports, was
headlined by a highly
anticipated rematch for the WBF
All Africa Cruiserweight title
between defending champion
Chamunorwa Gonorenda from
Zimbabwe and local man Tony
Salam.
“Sting”
Gonorenda had won their first
meeting, on home-ground in
Harare on August 31, by
controversial split decision,
and Salam had publicly promised
to not leave the result of the
return fight in the hands of the
judges.
True to his promise, “Sugar”
Salam produced some very sharp
counter-punching from the
get-go, mixing precise jabs with
quick combinations to body and
head, while a charging Gonorenda
clearly had problems finding his
mark.
In the sixth round Salam caught
Gonorenda with a hard left that
visibly hurt the visitor, and
only the ropes prevented him
from going down. Salam was quick
to follow up with a long flurry
of unanswered punches, prompting
referee Darryl Ribbink to step
in and wave the fight off.
Chaos in Lagos it was, as fans
rushed the ring to celebrate
with the new WBF All Africa
Champion who took his record to
12-2 (7). Fellow Southpaw
Gonorenda drops to 12-13 (7)
after resurrecting his career by
winning his previous five
outings.
In the evenings co-featured
attraction, Olanrewaju Durodola
won the vacant WBF World
Cruiserweight title with a third
round technical knockout of
Maroy Sadiki from D. R. Congo,
who appeared to pull a muscle in
the second round and was forced
to give up in the third.
It was a very anticlimactic
experience for Durodola, who
improved his professional record
to 29-6 (27), having fought some
of the best in the world in
recent years. In tears about his
bad luck, Maroy Sadiki falls to
15-2 (7).
Next up for Durodola could be a
first world title-defense
against Tony Salam, who called
his countryman out in the ring
following his victory. A
Durodola vs. Salam all-Nigerian
WBF World Championship fight
would certainly be a big
attraction in Lagos, and
Kalakoda Promotions called it
inevitable.
|
