Daily Sun (July 30 2015) - MZANSI boxing has been rocked by a muthi scandal.
It raises questions about Tsiko “Cruel Junior” Mulovhedzi’s surprise capture of the IBO welterweight title.
ALI “RUSH HOUR” FUNEKA’S TRAINER, DUKES SEKONYELA, CLAIMS SOMETHING INTERFERED WITH HIM.
Sekonyela was speaking after underdog Mulovhedzi dropped the veteran titleholder four times before the referee stopped the fight. “We are not accusing Mulovhedzi,” he said. “But there are rumours that the opposition camp used muthi.”
Sekonyela said his camp heard Mulovhedzi’s followers were doing suspicious things outside the ring during the fight last weekend. “I noticed my boxer was not in that fight. He was not himself. He was wobbly from the first round, and I know Ali is still very strong. “When he came to the corner after the first round I could see his eyes were changing. He complained that he couldn’t balance,” said Sekonyela.
But Mulovhedzi said these were all just excuses. “When you beat someone, he will try hard to come up with all sorts of excuses,” he said. “I don’t care. I won the fight. “When the belt is gone, it’s gone. Nothing said can bring it back.”
Mulovhedzi asked why such claims didn’t surface when he won his previous two fights in the Eastern Cape. “I won them by knockout before the sixth round. Why are the claims only coming up now? I have lost seven fights so far and that is too much.
If I was using muthi I wouldn’t have lost those fights. “Funeka said he regarded me as an amateur so I had to beat him so hard he doesn’t box again.” Boxing South Africa’s Eastern Cape representative Phakamile Jacobs said: “If Ali is saying muthi was used, he must bring evidence otherwise we can’t deal with such claims.”
Claims of muthi being used in boxing aren’t new. SunSport traced a former South African champ who lost his title to an underdog in 2008. “I was not myself in that fight,” he said. “My hands were heavy. When I tried to punch him even with my best punches it was as if I was just tapping him. “I know there was definitely something wrong because I was fine before I got in the ring. But everything changed when the fight started.”
See the Daily Sun’s new website for more on this and other stories....
The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 274 165 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2nd Quarter 2014) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.
Issued through the Politicsweb iService
