Chaos reigns at ABU elimination fight
What you need to know:
Kessy, who jumped on the judges’ table and broke it, lost his eight-round welterweight fight on unanimous points (60-54, 59-55, 58-56) to Twaha Kiduku.
Dar es Salaam. Chaos marred what was to be a night of exhilarating professional boxing fights after Stam Kessy sparked commotion when protesting judges’ ruling at the New Vijana Social Hall on Sunday.
Kessy, who jumped on the judges’ table and broke it, lost his eight-round welterweight fight on unanimous points (60-54, 59-55, 58-56) to Twaha Kiduku.
Sanctioned by the Tanzania Professional Boxing (TPBC), the fight served as a qualifier to a money-spinning African Boxing Union (ABU) title bout, which will take place later this year.
Kessy, who turned professional in 2008, looked dominant for many rounds, but the judges’ decision went against his belief and anger got the better of him.
“It is not fair. I didn’t lose this fight,” shouted Kessy as he raced to the judges’ table.
The fracas lasted for 20 minutes before security officers managed to restore tranquillity.
The bout was followed the fight of the day, which pitted featherweight boxers Cosmas Cheka against Haidary Mchanjo. The fight, however, ended prematurely following a power outage.
By the time the blackout hit the venue; Cheka had a wafer-thin lead of 20-19 points from the judging trio.
Speaking with The Citizen, TPBC president Chaurembo Palasa condemned Kessy’s incident, promising disciplinary action against him.
“TPBC will not tolerate such acts of hooliganism. We will meet soon and decide on how to discipline him,” he said.
For his part, bout promoter Robert Ikerege said they were disappointed with what happened at the venue and promised to organise another fight between Cheka and Mchanjo before long.
In another fight, Dar es Salaam’s Juma Fundi beat Selemani Mohamed by unanimous decision in a non-title fight.
Fundi, the more experienced of the two boxers, was impressive throughout the four rounds, landing several heavy punches on his opponent to deservedly win the fight.
Fundi has, therefore, improved his record to 20 wins, 11 of which are knockouts (KOs), 15 defeats (eight KOs) and three draws.
Kanda Kabongo commanded a unanimous decision win over George Dimoso in an exciting six-round Super Middleweight fight.
