Golden Gloves

When local fights experts select a winner of a particularly good ‘grudge’ fight, it often happens that the contest in question surprises all the soothsayers and pundits alike. Is that likely to happen when IBO world super middleweight champion Isaac “The Golden Boy” Chilemba (15-1) defends his title against the unbeaten Tommy “Tommy Gun” Oosthuizen (11-0) on November 6 at Emperors Palace, or is the pre-fight challenger the most likely victor of what should be a fierce, war of attrition! Chilemba has said that he will not surrender the crown he won by giving Australia’s Michael Bolling a horrible pasting, and has promised to do the same to the 6’4″ Oosthuizen on aq tournament roster that has been dubbed “DECLARATION OF WAR”!

Nevertheless there are enough experts around who know only too well the folly of predicting a ‘sure thing’ in the world of pugilism and who realize how their best calculated conclusions can misfire! Oh yes, the cleverest of us have wound up with egg on our chins! Who will ever forget the time when Arnold Taylor rose from four-knockdowns in November 1973, to crush Romeo Anaya with one beautifully timed right hand in the 14th round, to win the WBA bantamweight title?

Then too it was unscripted when Thulani “Sugarboy” Malinga handed England’s Nigel Benn a boxing lesson to lift the WBC super middleweight title in 1996. Other major upsets saw Gerrie Coetzee knockout Michael Dokes, Vuyani Bungu whip Kennedy Mckinney, Dingaan Thobela stop Glen Catley with a mere 12seconds to go in the fight and of course Corrie Sanders’ lightning-fast blow-out of Wladimir Klitschko!
Beware then when it looks all done and dusted….it seldom is!