AC Boxing promoter Imms Moses has demanded a rematch after Charles Shinima suffered a majority points defeat to Brandon Thysse of South Africa in their WBC silver welterweight fight on Saturday night.
After a lacklustre fight of endless clinches and few good shots, two of the judges scored in favour of Thysse, 96-94 and 97-93, while a third judge scored it a 95-95 draw.
Moses, who accompanied Shinima to the fight at Emperor’s Palace, outside Johannesburg, did not agree with the result.
“We didn’t get the result, but everybody could see that Charles won the fight, since it was live on SuperSport. Charles was in great shape and he showed the world that he’s one of the greatest fighters in the 147-pound division. Charles won the fight – he outpointed and outclassed Brandon Thysse in every situation of that fight,” he said.
“Thysse does not deserve to defend the title against anyone else besides Charles Shinima, because this was daylight robbery,” he added.
The fight was not much of a spectacle as both boxers clinched throughout the ten rounds, while few blows of note found the target.
Shinima landed some early jabs, causing some swelling under Thysse’s left eye, but by the third round the referee warned Shinima for holding.
Both boxers tried to force the pace by the midway stage, but few shots landed, and by the sixth round Shinima was once again warned for holding.
Shinima knocked Thysse’s mouthguard out with a strong jab early in the seventh round, but Thysse immediately counter-attacked and the fight continued in the same vein, with clinches and little action till the end.
Moses said he will appeal to the WBC for a rematch.
“We will of course appeal to the WBC to issue an immediate rematch. My attorney will write a letter to the WBC’s representative in South Africa, as well as the WBC president and we will also ask SuperSport to avail the footage, so that the WBC president can watch the fight and see why we want a rematch,” he added.
Moses also took aim at the judges, and specifically the Namibian judge, Moses Zauna, who scored 97-93 for Thysse.
“It was really disappointing to see that the judge who gave the fight away is actually a Namibian judge. I’m not here to cry or complain, but I just want to ask him what fight was he watching. You know, there was a judge, one judge from South Africa that was very consistent and was watching the right fight that Charles was dominating the fight,” he said.
It was Shinima’s second defeat in his last three fights and his record now stands at 18 wins and two losses.
He won his first 17 fights in a row, clinching the WBO Africa welterweight title in the process, but suffered his first defeat to Denis Nurja of Albania in March last year.
Shinima got back on track with a third round knockout of Stefanus Kakololo in his comeback fight last September, but has now suffered his second defeat within a year.
Moses said the defeat would have an adverse effect on his career.
“Of course, this defeat is a setback and it will affect his career and ranking, but we’ll go back to the gym and work harder. I think there’s a lot that Charles can change and improve. He’s a really good boxer, he has learned very quickly and we just need more time to get him back. We will have a plan in a few weeks to see what is the way forward,” he added.
Shinima meanwhile said he was not happy about the outcome.
“I’m not feeling good – physically I’m fine but I’m not happy with the outcome of the fight. Everyone who watched the fight could see how I performed and outboxed Brandon Thysse, but the judges didnt see what everyone saw and gave the fight away,” he said.
“A loss is not good for my career, but I’ve got to take it and I must now just go back to the gym and work harder so that next time there will be no doubt about the outcome,” he added.
Shinima thanked all his supporters.
“I want to thank everyone who supported me – my coach, my promoter, my sparring partners, my fans and everyone who was involved in the camp. This result will just make us work harder and I will be back,” he said.
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