Kagiso Bogwasi finds his range to stop Boyd Allen in sixth round

TimesLIVE

7 days ago

Botwswana's Kagiso Bogwasi laid out Boyd Allen with a single southpaw left to win what had threatened to be a scrappy bout in the sixth round of their junior-middleweight bout at the Galleria in Sandton on Saturday night.
Bogwasi, who improved his record to seven wins with four stoppages, had too much ring craft for Allen, a crossover from mixed martial arts who is known for his awkward, spoiling style in the boxing ring.
Bogwasi enjoyed a more formal amateur career which saw him getting to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where he had the misfortune of facing future undisputed world champion Josh Taylor of Scotland.
But his pedigree was obvious.
Allen's best chance was slowing it down and that meant a lot of holding and clinching, which slowed down the action substantially.
In the fourth round alone referee Tony Nyangiwe had to break them on no fewer than 10 occasions, and after doing it three more time in the fifth round he deducted a point from each.
That seemed to help and Allen started struggling keeping Bogwasi off him and it was only a matter of time until one of his bombs landed flush. When it did, Allen folded to the canvas, his legs unable to get him back up.
At stake was the IBO All-Africa junior-middleweight title and ironically, the last time Allen fought for this belt, he was also stopped inside the distance, losing to Brandon Thysse in 2020. Allen's record dropped to eight wins, two defeats and a draw.
On the main undercard Kaine Fourie returned to winning ways, stopping Sifiso Hlongwane in the fifth round of their lightweight contest.
Fourie, who was stopped in the first round in his last outing here three months ago, was more measured for most of the bout, keeping his defence up while pressing the attack.
Hlongwane didn't do much to worry Fourie, who thumped his chest wildly after flooring his opponent with a solid right.
Fourie's record now reads 10 wins (8 stoppages), one loss and two draws, but he will need to be guided carefully in his next few bouts.
Hlongwane dropped to 10-6-2.
The Aquila tournament, promoted by Kevin Lerena's wife, Geraldine, was a success as a development bill, showcasing some promising talent.
Bantamweight Tiisetso Matikinca underlined his potential as he decked Tefo Letshikgwane four times on his way to a fourth round stoppage victory.
He first softened up his opponent with body blows in the opening round and early in the second transferred his power shots upstairs.
Letshikgwane hopped onto his bicycle, but Matikinca cut the ring well to keep the pressure up, dropping him twice in the third, the first with a sweet left hook to the jaw.
He put him down again in the third and the fourth, by which time the referee wisely waved it over.
Matikinca's record now stands at 8-0 (6 KOs).
Matikinca's undefeated stablemate, Lindokuhle Khuzwayo, had to settle for a six-round draw against former national featherweight champion Jeff Magagane.
Livewire Luke Hendrikz used his high workrate to secure a unanimous decision over Thapelo Nkoane in their four-round featherweight contest.
Nkoane had the superior footwork, making his opponent miss frequently, but he was unable to convert that advantage into punches landed as Hendrikz, an awkward customer himself, improved his record to 4-0.
Teenager Leo Careri showed heart in a four-round super-middleweight slugfest with Aubin-Betu Ndala, fighting with a bloody nose to score a unanimous victory.
He was too wild at times and allowed himself to get suckered into a brawl, but the undefeated youngster refused to back down in an all-action battle that had the crowd screaming in ear-splitting approval.
Sabelo Ndwandwe made an impressive professional debut, displaying a decent range of punches and a tight defence as he convincingly outpointed a game Shawn Nkuna, also a first-timer in the paid ranks, over four entertaining featherweight rounds.