Kaine Fourie survived a late scare to outpoint former amateur star Sinethemba Blom in a thrilling lightweight battle in Johannesburg on Thursday night.
Fourie had dominated the contest with his superior hand speed and a devastating left hook that could be the best seen in a South African ring since Jan Bergman’s some 30 years ago.
He dropped Blom with a left hook to the jaw in the third round, and put him down again moments later with a right hand. In the fourth round, Fourie dug a left hook into the side of Blom, who sank to a knee to take a count.
Fourie, who turns 21 next month and is planning a holiday in Blom’s hometown of Cape Town, was in total control at that stage.
But 29-year-old Blom never gave up, relying on his vast experience which, he says, totals more than 500 amateur bouts. He fought for South Africa and narrowly missed out on a Commonwealth Games medal at Gold Coast 2018.
He pressed the action from the start, while Fourie danced around, throwing his long-range bombs and then relocating to a different part of the ring. Blom’s face started showing signs of punishment from early on, but he never stopped moving forward, hunting his prey.
Even after the knock-downs, Blom kept on advancing and his strategy paid off in the final sixth round when he finally caught up with Fourie, landing a shot that turned his legs to spaghetti.
“I was hurt,” admitted Fourie, who stayed on his feet, but only just. Blom kept firing away, trying to steal a late victory.
It wasn’t to be and the judges scored it to Fourie 59-52, 58-53 and 57-55.
Fourie improved to four wins and two draws while Blom dropped to 1-1.
The loss shouldn’t detract from Blom’s appeal, and while Fourie is a promising prospect, he still has much to learn.
Leaning on the ropes to trade punches with a shorter opponent is not a good strategy, and only his sharp reflexes allowed him to get away with it.
Still, he’s a fighter worth keeping an eye on, though he will have to tread carefully in a competitive division.
In the other early action at the Galleria in Sandton on the ESPN Africa show, elegant bantamweight Monica Mkandla of Zimbabwe pushed her unbeaten record to 4-0 as she ground out a convincing four-round points win over Sazisiwe Simon.
And Iviwe Mgema outpointed Phumlani Maloni over four rounds in their mini-flyweight bout.
Boxing
Kaine shows he's able as he wins entertaining war against Blom
Image: SUPPLIED
Kaine Fourie survived a late scare to outpoint former amateur star Sinethemba Blom in a thrilling lightweight battle in Johannesburg on Thursday night.
Fourie had dominated the contest with his superior hand speed and a devastating left hook that could be the best seen in a South African ring since Jan Bergman’s some 30 years ago.
He dropped Blom with a left hook to the jaw in the third round, and put him down again moments later with a right hand. In the fourth round, Fourie dug a left hook into the side of Blom, who sank to a knee to take a count.
Fourie, who turns 21 next month and is planning a holiday in Blom’s hometown of Cape Town, was in total control at that stage.
But 29-year-old Blom never gave up, relying on his vast experience which, he says, totals more than 500 amateur bouts. He fought for South Africa and narrowly missed out on a Commonwealth Games medal at Gold Coast 2018.
He pressed the action from the start, while Fourie danced around, throwing his long-range bombs and then relocating to a different part of the ring. Blom’s face started showing signs of punishment from early on, but he never stopped moving forward, hunting his prey.
Even after the knock-downs, Blom kept on advancing and his strategy paid off in the final sixth round when he finally caught up with Fourie, landing a shot that turned his legs to spaghetti.
“I was hurt,” admitted Fourie, who stayed on his feet, but only just. Blom kept firing away, trying to steal a late victory.
It wasn’t to be and the judges scored it to Fourie 59-52, 58-53 and 57-55.
Fourie improved to four wins and two draws while Blom dropped to 1-1.
The loss shouldn’t detract from Blom’s appeal, and while Fourie is a promising prospect, he still has much to learn.
Leaning on the ropes to trade punches with a shorter opponent is not a good strategy, and only his sharp reflexes allowed him to get away with it.
Still, he’s a fighter worth keeping an eye on, though he will have to tread carefully in a competitive division.
In the other early action at the Galleria in Sandton on the ESPN Africa show, elegant bantamweight Monica Mkandla of Zimbabwe pushed her unbeaten record to 4-0 as she ground out a convincing four-round points win over Sazisiwe Simon.
And Iviwe Mgema outpointed Phumlani Maloni over four rounds in their mini-flyweight bout.
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