(NOV 28) On Friday night,
November 27, on a show promoted by Ring Olympique Marseille at
the Salle Vallier in Marseille, France, Karine Rinaldo was
crowned as the new World Boxing Federation (WBF) Womens World
Super Bantamweight Champion when she defeated late substitute
Alexandra Lazar from Hungary for the vacant title.
Originally scheduled to face Argentinean Carolina Marcela
Gutierrez, Rinaldo was forced to switch her focus to Lazar, who
jumped at the unexpected opportunity when the former world
titlist pulled out of the fight only a few days before her
expected arrival in France.
Rinaldo didn’t leave anything to chance, as she came out fast in
the first round and overwhelmed Lazar with punches from all
angles. The 19-year-old Hungarian was forced to back-peddle, and
while she tried to throw some counter punches she had little
success.
After surviving a knock-down from a Rinaldo right hand in the
second round, the outclassed Lazar was rescued by referee
Zbigniew Lagosz in round three when she went down again
following a flurry. Official time of the technical knockout
victory for Rinaldo was 1:08.
Rinaldo (26), who improved her record to 14-1-1 (5), is now due
to face Interim champion Gabisile Tshabalala from South Africa
next year. Lazar drops to 4-1 (2), but at her young age she has
plenty of time to come back strong and put herself in line for
other opportunities in the years to come.
Also on Friday night, in Khayelitsha, South Africa, Southpaw
Mfundo Gwayana captured the vacant WBF Intercontinental
Flyweight title by unanimous decision after a pulsating battle
with fellow countryman Dalisizwe Komani.
After twelve rounds of back-and-forth, high-octane action,
judges Rassie Erasmus, Elroy Marshal and Clifford Mbelu all
scored the SABC TV televised fight in favor of Gwayana by scores
of 115-110, 115-109 and 116-113 respectively.
The new Intercontinental Flyweight champion improves his ledger
to 19-9-3 (9), while Komani falls to 14-7-1 (8) after winning
his previous four bouts. The fight was promoted by CSUNS Boxing
Promotions.
