ZIMBABWE’S boxing superstar Charles Manyuchi crashed to a shock first round knockout defeat against Qudratillo Abduqaxorov from Uzbekistan to lose his World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight world silver title in Singapore yesterday.
BY SPORTS REPORTER
In what was supposed to be a comfortable night’s work for Manyuchi, he surprisingly fell to only his third defeat since turning professional, after being knocked out in two minutes 56 seconds in the first round.
The Zimbabwean boxer went into the fight with an impressive ranking of sixth in the world in his weight class, while Abduqaxorov (23), the WBC Asia silver welterweight champion, was ranked a lowly 34th, according to WBC rankings.
But an apparently complacent Manyuchi, whose last defeat came seven years ago, looked very casual in his approach to the high-profile bout and was duly punished by his less experienced opponent, who sent him crashing to the canvas twice in the first three minutes before the referee called off the fight.
The Zimbabwean boxer may also have paid for lack of matches as it was his first title defence since he beat Russian Dmitry Mikhaylenko in May last year to assume the prestigious belt which was previously held by British star Amir Khan.
Since then, Manyuchi has had only one fight, a non-title bout against little-known Colombian boxer Jose Agustin Julio Feria which lasted 2 minutes 42 seconds.
Ironically, Manyuchi’s defeat last night lasted barely 10 seconds longer as Abduqaxorov beat him just a few seconds before the end of the first round.
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On the other hand, Abduqaxorov, a newcomer to professional boxing, has been on a meteoritic rise in the past 12 months and has had at least two high-profile fights this year alone.
A win against Abduqaxorov could have put Manyuchi in the frame for a shot at the WBC world title, once held by luminaries like Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr, and currently held by American Keith Thurman, but his plans went up in smoke yesterday.
