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Hlatshwayo retains title
12/10/2007 17:03 - (SA)
Johannesburg - South Africa's Isaac Hlatshwayo dominated Australian challenger Robert Medley to retain his International Boxing Organisation welterweight crown in Sydney, Australia on Friday.
Hlatshwayo took the fight to the taller Medley and systematically out-jabbed him, despite being the shorter fighter.
Medley fought on the back-foot for most of the fight while Hlatshwayo charged forward behind a stinging jab which produced a cut above Medley's left eye.
As the rounds mounted, Hlatshwayo intensified his attack and wobbled Medley with a powerful right hand in the fourth round.
He then floored the Aussie challenger with a stunning left hook in the fifth round. Medley rose on unsteady legs but managed to weather the storm to see out the round as Hlatshwayo slowed down.
By the seventh round the fight was one way traffic with the difference in quality of the fighters clearly visibly.
All the judges scored it a one-sided fight, with Robert Byrd scoring it 119-108, Jack Reiss 118-109 and Cherdchai Srirat 118-109, confirming Hlatshwayo's dominance.
It was the first time Medley lost a bout in 19 professional outings while Hlatshwayo stretched his record to 27 victories in 29 bouts against a single loss.
Hlatshwayo's manager Nick Durandt, who predicted a stoppage victory for his charge before the fight, said Medley's refusal to fight saved him from getting knocked out.
"He was not interested to take the title and only wanted to go the full distance," said Durandt from Australia.
"I thought fighting in front of his fans would spur him on to make a the fight of it but it never happened. Hlatshwayo proved his class even when the spectators were trying to get under his skin."
By winning the fight, Hlatshwayo has positioned himself to feature on the undercard of the December 8 world welterweight showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Ricky Hatton at Las Vegas in the US.
- SAPA
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