Mdantsane knockout artist Lonwabo Sizani’s technical team will be overhauled before bringing him back to the ring after suffering his first professional loss.
This was confirmed by his promoter, Mzi Booi, who organised Sizani’s WBC silver youth junior lightweight title clash against Namibian Errikie Errikie at the Guild Theatre in KuGompo City at the weekend.
Sizani, who had come to the fight on the back of five knockouts in as many bouts, meekly succumbed to a fourth-round knockout loss after being dropped twice in the round.
The writing was on the wall as early as the first round when he could not deal with Errikie’s unconventional boxing style of throwing punches from awkward angles.
Attacking in a straight line, which made him a sitting duck for the Namibian’s counter-punches, Sizani was a shadow of the boxer who had only gone beyond the third round once when Gqeberha boxer Aphiwe Magobiyane gave him anxious moments in their last clash in November.
Though Sizani eventually knocked out Magobiyane with a body-induced shot in four rounds, he was unable to deal with Errikie who continued to beat him to the punch.
Errikie was able to answer every punch with a flurry of his own, making Sizani reluctant to commit to a sustained offence.
By the second round, alarm bells were already sounding that Sizani was in for his first loss.
However, his corner, manned by former SA champion Mzi Dintsi and assistant trainer Bobbin Sityana, could not come up with adjustments to turn the tide.
Booi confirmed that indications were there by the second round that his prized asset was headed for a loss.
“To me the fight ended in the second round, and the fact that it continued for two more rounds was just delaying the inevitable,” he said.
Booi said he would suggest a technical team revamp before engineering a ring return for Sizani.
“We need to beef up the technical team with more expertise before bringing Sizani back,” he said.
Booi remained optimistic that Sizani was still destined for stardom but acknowledged the flaws needing to be corrected.
“It is good that these flaws have been exposed as early as now so that they can be corrected going forward.
“I still believe Sizani will go far in boxing, and we should not underestimate Errikie because he had an unconventional style which could have tested any rising star.”
Though there were anxious moments when Sizani remained prone on the canvas after the second knockdown before he was resuscitated by medical personnel, Booi said the boxer would be brought back in three months after serving the automatic suspension.
Daily Dispatch
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