National Team Boxers Prove Their Worth
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday October 22, 2018 12:06
With only one more tournament left before the national championship, the boxers came out to stamp their authority on the game. Some of the national team players included Lethabo Modukanele, Keamogetse Kenosi and Rajab Mahammed. However they met tough opposition from their adversaries. Modukanele met a brave boxer in Jennifer Sechi from BMC.
One would have expected Modukanele to stop Sechi in the first round, or even for a count out but that did not happen. The first round of the bout started on a high tempo with Modukanele in charge.
Sechi threw in a few punches of her own. In the second round, Sechi came back with a different game plan, taking the war to her opponent. Unfortunately Modukanele was not to be intimidated as she landed a right jab on target. The Tsholofelo boxing club member won the bout 3-0.
Modukanele told Sport Monitor that she had been training hard ahead of the tournament. She said at the beginning of her bout against Sechi, she had told herself that she had to win the match.
“I had to implement what I have been doing at the gym. I am disappointed that I am not as fit as I should be. I also did not fight the way I wanted but I wanted to outclass her. I should have stopped her in the second round. There is room for improvement going forward,” Modukanele said. In another women’s bout, Same Tome of BMC retired to Kenosi in the first round. Boxing supporters were treated to an electrifying performance by Treasure Moremi (DTCB) and Nthaba Nlanda of UB in the men’s 60kg. It was clear from the beginning of the bout that Moremi meant business. He landed quick punches on his opponent without a response. Nlanda tried to attack, but Moremi was quick to react and retaliated with another load of punches, eventually throwing the former to the canvas.
The second round started with Moremi piling pressure on his opponent forcing the referee to stop the bout midway as punch-drunk Nlanda fell. It was a one sided affair for the DTCB boxer. The medic stopped the bout in the third round to protect Nlanda from further punishment.
Moremi said he had expected a better competition from Nlanda because he is always a better opponent. “Nlanda did not give out his best. He seemed scared and that made me lose temper and I wanted to finish the match quickly,” he said. Meanwhile, Mahammed won his bout 3-0 against Nonofo Ketlanang of EMG. He said preparations for the competition were intense but his target is BoBA national championship. He said Ketlanang was not a walkover. He said fighting against a left-handed boxer is difficult but he had to be strategic in order to win.