Tshehla blows chance of world title attempt
Boxing promoter Branco Milenkovic of Branco Productions appears to have second thoughts of staging a "world" title double-header in Britain.
He is unimpressed with the South African and WBC International featherweight champion Anthony Tshehla.
The champion scored an unimpressive points victory over Mkhuseli Kondile on Friday night.
Milenkovic expected Tshehla to knockout Kondile in the middle rounds of the feature fight of this bout billed as the "Boxing Explosion" staged at Secunda's Graceland Hotel Casino resort, on Friday night.
Said the promoter: "With this kind of performance, I will not be able to sell Tshehla overseas."
The initial plan was to match Tshehla against Scott Harrison (15-1), the British and Commonwealth champion.
"Now I'm going to review my plans," Milenkovic explained.
Milenkovic rightly points out that Tshehla, who won 116-112, 118-108 and 117-111 on the three judges' cards, continues to fight with an open mouth, his hands held low and with his chin up.
"He was more adventurous against Jackie Gunguluza (whom Tshehla stopped in the sixth round for the vacant titles) and Loyolo Kotsana (whom Tshehla stopped in the fourth round). Both bouts were scheduled for 12 rounds.
"Fighter and promoter have to complement each other - the fighter by producing good performances and the promoter by giving him regular fights," said Milenkovic.
However, Milenkovic appears to overlook some important factors from a bout that stretches Tshehla to 15-0-1.
Southpaw Kondile is a strong puncher. Tshehla used brain-power instead of brawn and produced good, nimble footwork to frustrate Kondile (15-3).
"The next time I fight him, I'll bring a rope to tie his legs. That will slow him down," said Kondile.
"He made it hard for me to throw my left. The ring was also too big."
Kondile's manager, George le Roux, said their game plan was to put pressure on Tshehla from the middle rounds. "But Mkhuseli didn't get a chance to use his left."
Having cut down his cockiness, Tshehla used a tactical approach to out-think Kondile. "I was not offensive because I know he hits hard. I felt his punches and he wasn't as stiff as I expected him to be," said Tshehla.
The champion says there's room for improvement.
"I have to improve my finishing. When I pinned Kondile against the ropes in the eighth round, he was shaken. I thought I'd won on a technical knockout when the referee (Alf Buqwana) separated us. I wasn't aware the bell had sounded to end the round."
Tshehla, who is ranked No 8 by the WBC, said he was glad the bout went the distance because the last time he was stretched was when he outpointed Joshua Kgoase for the All Africa title in April 2000.
The champion's father/trainer Paul said their strategy was to approach the opening rounds with caution and not take unnecessary risks. "I'm happy with his performance even though he was occasionally sluggish.
"I thought we'd KO Kondile if he became careless. To his credit, he showed he is an experienced fighter. People must not doubt his ability," said Tshehla snr.