However, EMG had an ace up their sleeve, collecting 16 points. Diamond Boxing Club missed out on the title with a single point, collecting 15 points to finish on the second spot during the maiden BoBA appearance at the championship. The Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) Boxing Club collected 11 points to claim the third position.
Meanwhile, boxers displayed brilliant skills in different categories with Mmusi Tswiigi becoming the only boxer to win his bout by RSC (Referee Stop Contest) in the second round. Tswiigi, the Prisons Club boxing member, faced Shathiso Makhani of Diamond Boxing Club in the light middle contest (71kg).
Tswiigi was beaming with confidence the moment he stepped in the ring and he did not waste time to attack Makhani immediately the referee issued an instruction. He brought his opponent to his knees after catching him with a punch at the back of his head. The referee had to step in to protect Makhani as Tswiigi continued punishing his former team mate. Makhani found his footing and got a chance to also throw a few punches to Tswiigi who was in control of the bout. At the beginning of the second round, Tswiigi sent Makhani to the canvass hitting him with an upper cut, and followed that with a few body punches. Tswiigi found a gap once again to bring Makhani to his knees with a right jab, to stop his man and win the contest with an RSC.
Another interesting bout was between Kago Raokgwathile (1-2-5) and Mmoloki Sekwapi (EMG) in the feather weight division. Raokgwathile went into the match with an upper hand after knocking out national team boxer, George Molwantwa during the qualifiers last weekend in Francistown. The two boxers started the first round sizing each other, with a few punches thrown and Raokgwathile pushing to take control as Sekwapi retreated. Raokgwathile continued with his attack in the second round but Sekwapi caught him with jab on the right ear. Sekwapi turned his fortunes around as fatigue was setting in on his opponent. Speaking to SportMonitor, Sekwapi said as part of preparations, he focused on what he already knew.
“We have faced each other before, so I knew what to expect. I had to correct mistakes and improve stamina. When I stepped into that ring, I was under pressure to assist my team to win the championships. I applied what I was taught during training; I worked on what he threw at me. When he attacked, I scored a point and retreated,” he said. Sekwapi said it is not always easy to win against a south paw, but he worked smart for the win. Raokgwathile said his challenge was to drop weight ahead of the bout, which led to him getting tired.
“My opponent was always retreating because when I caught him, I always hit him with powerful punches. A loss today is part of boxing more especially that it is my national championships debut and I am coming out with something,” Raokgwathile said. For his part, Tswiigi said the plan was to outclass Makhani and if possible stop him, which he achieved but he did not want to undermine him. “I was very fit; fatigue was the last thing in my mind and I was ready to take all rounds without any challenge.
It was the first time that I fought against Makhani because he is my former teammate. Only this year he jumped ship to join another team. So I knew what to expect from him,” Tswiigi said.
Makhani felt that he was let down by his coaches because they instructed him to retreat and that made him an easy target for Tswiigi. Other medalists: Fly weight: Rajab Mahommed (gold), Maxwell Sechi (silver), Thabang Chakalisa (bronze) and Kerapetse Segole (bronze).
Bantam weight: Joel Kgogobi (gold), Botshelo Thomologo (silver), Otsile Mogobye (bronze) and Mompoloki Sebula (bronze). Welter weight: Kenaope Boifang (gold), Solomon Lere (silver) and Karabo Motshwarakgole (bronze). Women: Light welter weight: Keamogetse Kenosi (gold) and Tshephang Molwa (silver).
