South Africa’s highest-rated boxer, Silence Mabuza, silenced raging Argentinean tornado Damien Marchiano to retain his IBO world bantamweight title with a rousing fifth-round TKO win at Emperors Palace on Saturday night.
Although relatively slightly built, even for the bantamweight division, Marchiano performed more like a raging bull from the Pampas at the opening bell, and traded furious punches with the classy Mabuza for the first three action-packed rounds.
But it was the South African’s more lethal punching power that ultimately reduced Marchiano to something resembling an Argentinean steak as he was floored twice in the fourth round, and then crumbled on jelly-like legs in the fifth round.
And, although he remonstrated bitterly with United States referee Gary Rosato for stopping the bout, there was no doubt that Marchiano had wilted in the face of Mabuza’s clinical and precisely timed punches.
”We’re now looking for bigger things and better titles,” said Mabuza’s trainer, Nick Durandt, afterwards. ”Silence is rated fifth best bantamweight in the world by the authoritative Ring magazine and [is] ready to fight for the most prestigious titles in his division.”
And looking calm and composed after warding off his willing and courageous opponent, Mabuza said the fight had been of special significance for him — ”because it is my wife’s birthday and I was determined to provide her with a suitable present for the occasion”. — Sapa