Boxing
Jorge Garcia Perez shocks Roarke Knapp, scores third round KO goal in South Africa
What was supposed to be a breakthrough victory for Roarke Knapp quickly turned into a nightmare when he was knocked out in the third round by his Mexican opponent Jorge Garcia Perez on Saturday night at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa.
The first round of the 12-round junior middleweight fight began with both fighters fighting for position. Knapp moved forward, punching to the chest while Perez landed a right hook. Knapp landed a right uppercut. Perez ran to the body. Knapp knocked his opponent back to the ropes with a straight right, possibly covering the round.
Knapp continued to land straight shots in the second, while Perez responded with an uppercut. The house fighter then pushed the guy into the corner where he landed a combination to the body and head. Suddenly, Perez hit him with a left hook, which caused Knapp to explode and send a spray flying into the air with another substantial right hook. When the bell rang, the pair made their trades and it seemed like Knapp had a slight advantage in the exchanges.
Everything collapsed in the third quarter. Knapp went down moments after Perez connected with a right uppercut that was ruled a slip. Getting up, Perez sensed something and followed him. Great left hook sent him back into the corner. Perez lunged at him. Another left hook, several left uppercuts, body shots and the last right to the head knocked Knapp to the canvas. He stood up but fell backwards into the corner in a seated position, where he was counted out with a time of 1:05.
Jorge Garcia Perez improves his record to 30-4 with 25 knockouts. It looks like this power is real. He deserves praise for his impressive away win. Knapp drops to 17-2-1. It will be arduous for him to recover from defeat, but he has shown great resilience in the past. Time will tell.
Another rising junior middleweight from South Africa, Shervantaigh Koopman, won a ten-round unanimous decision over Wendy Toussaint in a fight that never really caught fire.
Shervantaigh Koopman (right) hits Wendy Toussaint. Photo: James Gradidge
Toussaint was as awkward as it seemed. Normally an orthodox fighter, he emerged from his corner, fighting in a southpaw stance, circling the ring and away from Koopman. In the first round, no one was able to land a punch.
Koopman began to touch him, looking straight at the body, but Toussaint stubbornly moved away. Koopman chased, trying his best to land only the occasional right hook or looping left coming back from Toussaint.
Koopman started throwing combinations in the fourth quarter, prompting more action from Toussaint, who landed several right hooks before returning to his orthodox stance. He landed one left hook, but Koopman was busier.
Toussaint changed positions in the fifth set, while Koopman was breathtaking with several good rights. Toussaint gave back every time he changed his stance to orthodox, but Koopman was more consistent.
In rounds six through eight, Toussaint decided to adopt an orthodox stance and step forward. The change of tactics worked out much better for him. He started using his jab and found a home with a left hook and right hand combination. The pressure made Koopman look a little uncomfortable.
Sensing the urgency, Koopman let go of his hands on the ninth throw and found success with combinations to the body. Toussaint kept firing single shots here and there, but Koopman turned the momentum his way.
To start the last round, Koopman landed a series of left hooks. Moments later there was a loop to the right as Toussaint got back on the bike.
The scores were 98-92, 96-94 and 97-93, all for Koopman. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win.
Shervantaigh Koopman remains undefeated, and Wendy Toussaint’s record is 14-0 after nine knockouts, and Wendy Toussaint’s record drops to 15-3.
In a fight between two former national heavyweight champions, Chris Thompson won an eight-round unanimous decision over Juan Roux.
Roux was returning after a two-year break due to injury and it showed. He stepped forward but struggled to pull the trigger against Thompson, who did everything right. He landed several straight lefts in the first and lifted Roux’s foot off the canvas with a cracking right hook.
In the second, Roux drove him into the corner, landing a single right and working to the body, but Thompson held on and then fought his way out of the corner with quicker, clearer shots.
It was a similar story in the third period when Thompson used his jab and went straight left to the body. When Roux attacked with a single hand, Thompson cleaned his boots and landed right hooks around Roux’s guard.
Roux performed better in the next two rounds. On the fourth down, he hit a difficult right and Thompson went to the corner. Later in the round, he managed to land another combination to the body, followed by a left hook upstairs with Thompson on the ropes. In the fifth shot, Roux made one uppercut, and moments later a straight right corner kept Thompson. This was the end of his successes.
From there, Thompson took control, landing both on the body and on the head of Roux, who took several shots that resulted in spray being thrown out.
Thompson finished the fight in style in the final round when a looping left followed by a right hook and another left sent his opponent to the canvas. It was a hefty knockdown, but the brave Roux somehow managed to defeat the Count. Thompson wasted seconds when the referee was forced to order him to retreat to a neutral corner before pouncing on Roux at the buzzer.
All three judges scored the fight 78-73 in favor of Chris Thompson, who is currently 13-6-1 with seven knockouts. Juan Roux drops to 6-2.
Strawweight Beaven Sibanda passed his first major test with an eight-round unanimous decision victory over the more experienced Siphamandla Baleni.
Sibanda’s switch hit was just a little sharper and faster than his opponent’s. After a shaky start, Sibanda landed a right hook in the third quarter. Baleni tried to go difficult on him in the clinches, but Sibanda stayed serene and punched with every free hand.
Sibanda landed several straight lefts in the fourth set, prompting Baleni to attack the body, but it wasn’t enough.
In the fifth, Sibanda began throwing jabs followed by combinations to the body, ending with a left hook. He maintained this rhythm until the eighth period, when he punished Baleni with straight blows to the head and body, avoiding his opponent. A lead hook kept Baleni hanging on until the final bell.
Beaven Sibanda won twice by scores of 77-75 and 79-73, and is currently 7-0 after two knockouts. Siphamandla Baleni drops to 21-7-2.
Undercard results:
Bryan Thysse KO 3 Sanele Mbatha (featherlight heavyweight)
Charlton Malajika W UD 6 Arnel Lubisi (bantamweight)
The card was presented by Rodney Berman from Golden Gloves Promotions.
Boxing
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