SportPREMIUM

Blast from the past: Mitchell hangs on to title after draw with Rivera

Today in SA sport history: March 27

Brian Mitchell defends his WBA junior-lightweight title for the first time with a 15-round draw against Jose Rivera of Puerto Rico in San Juan in 1987.
Brian Mitchell defends his WBA junior-lightweight title for the first time with a 15-round draw against Jose Rivera of Puerto Rico in San Juan in 1987. (Wessel Oosthuizen/Gallo Images)

1906 — England beat South Africa by four wickets in the fourth Test at Newlands to reduce their series deficit to 1-3.

1972 — The third and final Test between the South African women and New Zealand at the Wanderers ends in a draw. Lorna Ward took 6/48 during the Kiwis’ first innings of 209 and Brenda Williams scored 100 for the home side in their second innings. New Zealand won the series 1-0.

1982 — Left wing Carel du Plessis scores a try on his international debut as the Springboks notch up eight tries to trounce a South American team 50-18 at Loftus Versfeld in the first Test of a two-match series. Du Plessis’s brother Willie, a centre, also scored a try, while Danie Gerber, the other centre, went over for three and right wing Ray Mordt two. The visitors responded with just one try through winger Alejandro Puccio, with flyhalf and captain, the legendary Hugo Porta, adding four penalties and a conversion.

1987 — Brian Mitchell defends his WBA junior-lightweight title for the first time with a 15-round draw against Joe Rivera of Puerto Rico in San Juan. Mitchell’s next draw would be in his 12th defence in 1991.

1998 — Sugar Boy Malinga’s second reign as WBC super-middleweight champion ends as he is outpointed by Richie Woodhall in Telford, England. Malinga had reclaimed the belt a few months earlier from Robin Reid, having lost it in 1996. Already in his forties, Malinga became a champion one more time, briefly holding the marginal WBF title.

1999 — Jacques Kallis scores 100 and Daryll Cullinan 94 off 56 balls as the Proteas, on 290/5, beat New Zealand by 143 runs in the fifth ODI in Auckland.

2000 — Nantie Hayward takes 4/31 as the Proteas beat India by six wickets in a triangular series ODI in Sharjah. Jacques Kallis scored an unbeaten 53 to steer South Africa to the 165-run target.

2002 — A nine-man Bafana Bafana are smashed 1-4 by Georgia in a friendly in Tbilisi. They played with 10 men for more than an hour after Lesley Manyathela was sent off, and for about 30 minutes after Thabang Molefe was red-carded. Delron Buckley scored Bafana’s only goal.

2002 — The Proteas and Australia play to a tie in the third ODI in Potchefstroom, with both sides scoring 259. The hosts got there with Jonty Rhodes making 84 and Jacques Kallis 71. They had Australia on 223/9 with 28 balls remaining, but Jimmy Maher, 43 not out, and tail-ender Nathan Hauritz, 11 not out, managed to even the honours. They needed 11 to win the match off the last over, and Kallis bowled a no ball from which Maher scored another three runs. After that they added six singles.

2005 — Mzukisi Sikali, winner of three marginal world titles at different weights, loses in his only crack at a bona fide world crown when he quits in the eighth round against Australia’s IBF flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan in Sydney. Sikali, whose discipline outside the ring had deteriorated over the years, had insufficient time to prepare for the fight and was a shadow of himself, but even so, he did enough to have Darchinyan tell his corner after the fifth round that he wanted to quit. But by that stage Sikali ran out of steam. The 33-year-old Sikali, who had beaten a couple of fighters who had either gone on to or previously held genuine world titles, never fought again, being murdered for his cellphone on the streets of KwaNobuhle six months later.

2008 — Hashim Amla, resuming on 85, scores 159 as South Africa are bowled out for 540 on the second day of the first Test against India in Chennai.

2009 — Albie Morkel hits 37 off 19 balls as the Proteas, needing 167, beat Australia by four wickets in the first T20 at the Wanderers. Robin Peterson took 3/30.

2010 — Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman of the Dominican Republic meet again after their drawn world title clash the previous year, fighting for the IBF lightweight belt in Las Vegas. But this time the East London fighter loses on points after being dropped in the sixth round. Two of the three judges had Funeka losing by just one point.

2012 — Morne Morkel takes 6/23 but New Zealand survive to stumps on 200/6, still 189 runs short of victory, to draw the weather-hit third and final Test in Wellington. The Proteas won the series 1-0.

2014 — Imran Tahir takes 4/21 as the Proteas bowl out the Netherlands for 139 to win their World T20 group match in Chattogram by six runs. Hashim Amla top-scored for South Africa with 43.

2022 — Laura Wolvaardt scores 80 off 79 balls and Mignon du Preez an unbeaten 52 as the South African women, needing 275 to win, beat India by three wickets off the final ball of their World Cup encounter in Christchurch.

2024 — Laura Wolvaardt scores 102 off 63 balls and Marizanne Kapp 60 off 40 as the South African women total 198/5 on their way to beating Sri Lanka by 79 runs in the first T20 at Benoni.

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