Punched Until His Face Is Flat, Mthalane Remains Champion: World Boxing

Jakarta - South African boxer Moruti Mthalane became famous after undergoing a world boxing match for the IBF flying class title in Tokyo on Monday, May 13, 2019. Mthalane won 12 rounds against host boxer Masayuki Kuroda and defended his title.

PHOTO FROM: (AFP / The Sun)

But it was not a matter of victory that made Mthalane famous, but a photograph of his face which was hit by a sharp corner by Kuroda. So badly, the face of the 36-year-old boxer was almost formless.

The Mthalane vs. Kuroda fight was indeed going hard. The two boxers came down from the ring with a crushed face. Kuroda himself had swollen in his right eye until it was almost closed, while his left eye was bleeding.

"I am very happy today for being able to defend the title. Kuroda gave a hard fight, but I was able to survive and win, "said Mthalane after the game.

Mthalane is a veteran boxer who has eaten a lot of salt acid. He was an IBF flyweight champion in 2009-2013, but he dropped the title and he was vacuumed for three years because his coach Nick Durant died.

After a comeback in 2016 with a new team, Mthalane got the chance to become world champion again. Appearing as an additional match in the fight of Manny Pacquiao vs. Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur on July 15, 2018, Mthalane won the points for Pakistani boxer Muhammad Waseem.

Moruti Mthalane's record on the trip as a professional boxer for 19 years was 38-2-0 (25 KOs). Victory over Koruda is the second success of defending the title. { SOURCE }