Cebuano bantamweight contender Jason Canoy fell short in his quest to capture the WBF world bantamweight title when he lost to Mzuvukile Magwaca of South Africa by split decision at Magwaca's hometown at Khayelitsha in Cape Town, South Africa Friday night March 31.
Judge Darryl Ribbick had Canoy winning 115-114 but judges Clifford Mbelu and Eddie Marshal had Magwaca ahead by wide margin with scores of 117-112 and 117-110.
According to the ringside report sent by OPSI executive Rico Navarro, Canoy "was the aggressor all fight long, landing blows to the body and overhand rights to the face of Magwaca" but Magwaca "who was on his bicycle all the time, used his reach to score points and clinched whenever needed."
Navarro added that nobody was in serious trouble although Magwaca went down once but ruled a slip by the referee.
Canoy earned the respect of fans and officials and many went to him after the fight to shake his hand and take photos with him.
With the loss, Canoy went down to his 7th defeat and dropped his record to 26 wins, 7 losses, 2 draws with 19 knockouts. Magwaca, who is now the WBF bantamweight king, remains undefeated with a record of 18-0-2, 10KOs.
In a statement, OPSI said "We congratulate Mzuvukile Magawaca for winning the championship and wish him well. We are proud of Jason?s performance. He has nothing to be ashamed of as he gave it his all and made the country proud. The support and greetings that he received after the fight is a sign that he fought a great fight."
Comments
Share your thoughts on the above article by Dong Secuya.