Tuesday night at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa, Paul Kamanga (18-0, 10 KOs), from Johannesburg, South Africa, by way of Democratic Republic of the Congo, TKO’d Roman Zhailauov (15-2, 9 KOs), from Astana, Kazakhstan, at 2:18 of the fifth round of a scheduled 12-round fight to win the vacant Pan African welterweight title.
Twenty-two-year-old Kamanga dominated the fight, despite getting caught with a short left hook that dropped him to the canvas. But the newly crowned Congolese champion was too busy and too strong for his 21-year-old opponent, who ate lefts and rights to the head and body as though it was going out of style.
Zhailauov’s right eye began to swell in the third round, which gave him something else beside Kamanga’s bombs to think about.
Things didn’t improve in round four. Zhailauov continued to get pummeled, and his eye looked worse for wear with every punch that landed. But here’s no quit, not an ounce of it, in the rugged fighter from Kazakhstan.
Round five was more of the same. The beating continued. Two-thirds of the way through the round, referee Jaap van Niewenhuizen had seen enough and waved off the fight and not a moment too soon.
Congratulation to Paul Kamanga, the new WBA Pan African welterweight champion.
This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.
