Boxing fans responded positively to the innovative first-round knockout prize of R30,000 put up by promoter Geraldine Lerena during her tournament held at the Galleria Conference and Events Hall in Sandton on Saturday evening.
Any boxer who won their fight in the first round would walk away with R30,000, an amount which would be reduced as the fight progressed, explained Lerena.
By the end of the night, the generous promoter had paid out R125,000 to five boxers who won their bouts by knockouts.
Thabiso “The Rock” Mchunu won R30,000 for dispatching Namibian Kareb Shitana in round one, while Simnikiwe “The Nuclear Bomb” Bongco, Tisetso “Bay Bad Boy T” Matikinca and Gary “G Unit” van Staden each pocketed R25,000 for winning their fights in the second round.
Bongco beat Nthangenedzeni “Robocop” Mohane while Matikinica blew sent Sabelo “Mkhonto” Cebekhulu to the canvas.
Van Staden knockout out Mxolisi “The Silent Storm” Lahliwe while Kaine “K9″ Fourie earned R20,000 for his third-round stoppage of Bilal Johnson.
Top trainers Colin “Nomakanjani” Nathan, Manny Fernandez, Alan Toweel Jnr and Phillip Ndou, and Boxing SA provincial manager in KwaZulu-Natal Mike Dube were fully behind the cash strategy.
“I thought it was a nice television show, some exciting match-ups and exciting results,” said Nathan. “I like the incentivising of fighters.”
Fernandez added: “It’s good for boxing. It motivates the guys to pick up their work rate knowing that they will get an extra bonus. I enjoyed the tournament.”
Alan Toweel Jnr said: “It’s always good to have something new in the game. It can be quiet a motivation for those guys to get an early knockdown. However, the art of boxing may fall away. There is that risk.”
It’s good for boxing. It motivates the guys to pick up their work rate knowing that they will get an extra bonus. I enjoyed the tournament.
— Manny Fernandez
Ndou, a knockout artist in his own right with 34 KOs in 37 wins, and now a trainer based in the Free State, said: “It’s a very good thing because it pushes fighters to perform at their best. But boxers need to be careful and not fall into a trap of being knocked-out while chasing the knockout.”
Dube said that innovation would stand or fail on quality of matchmaking. “You want a good fight on paper because you can’t afford mismatches, which will have the obvious results. I like the innovation. Anything that brings money to the fighters ... I like it.”
Musawakhe “King Kong” Mncwabe, Leo “The Chosen One” Careri and Keaton “The Joker” Gomes won their fights on points.
Mncwabe defeated tough-as-nails Alexander Meyer over four rounds in a junior lightweight bout while Careri shocked ring veteran and former SA middleweight champ John “Section 29″ Bopape with a points win over six rounds in the super middleweight division.
Gomes laboured to a points win over six rounds against Congolese Youssouf “El Terrible” Mwanza.
These bouts were televised live by SuperSport from 7pm and Lerena’s tournament - her first this year - attracted a big crowd which included the country’s Olympic sprinter Akani Simbine.
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