IN just one round, Zimbabwe’s superstar boxer Charles Manyuchi had registered another brutal knockout win by flooring his Columbian opponent Jose Augustin Julio Feria in this World Boxing Council (WBC) non-title fight here at the Harare International Conference Centre.
BY HENRY MHARA (SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR) AT THE HICC
Manyuchi, in his first major fight at home, hardly worked out a sweat as he caught the chin of his opponent with a crushing right hand uppercut with just 2 minutes 42 seconds into the round.
Showing a great speed and body movement, the WBC silver welterweight champion, buoyed by the rapturous crowd, never wasted time letting loose vicious combinations that simply overwhelmed Feria, and sometimes toying around with the South American, to the delight of the fans.
The knockout blow arrived as the two boxers appeared to be tying up in the middle of the ring but the 26 year old Manyuchi, (now 20-2-1 including 12 knockouts), unleashed a powerful right hand that Feria (21-3-2 including 14KOs), never saw coming.
Feria, seven years older than Manyuchi, went down and struggled to get up as the referee called an end to the fight. Manyuchi said he was hugely disappointed by the little resistance offered by Feria.
“The guy is a huge disappointment. I expected more and a better fight from him. He was a waste of my time,” said Manyuchi who was using the fight to prepare for his WBC silver welterweight mandatory title defense match against Russian Dmitry Mikhaylenko in Moscow on November 4.
The match was the main bout in a total of eight that were on the bill including a WBC international title fight that was won by Zambia’s Lolitha Mzeya, who defeated Malawian Agness Mtimaukanena, by a technical knockout in the second round.
