OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 1.00am.
SOUTH African IBF junior featherweight champion Vuyani “The Beast” Bungu retained his title after beating American challenger Danny Romero on points in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday.
Bungu’s win sees him matching Brian Mitchell’s record of 12 successful world title defences.
There judges, however, did not see the bout in the same way, with Lulama Mtya from South Africa giving it to the champion 117-112, while James Ashe of New Jersey made Bungu the winner by 115-114. John Riley, from Romero’s home state of New Mexico scored it an even 114-114.
Bungu, who lives in East London, beat Romero to the punch for most of the 12 rounds, landing frequently with his jab and counter right hand.
Romero started out on the attack in every round, but was soon forced to fight from the back foot as Bungu piled on the pressure.
Bungu’s record improves to 36 wins and two defeats, while Romero, a former IBF flyweight and junior bantamweight champion, drops to 33-3.