Tweet Martin Murray won his first fight in South Africa when Ishmael Tetteh failed to come out for the seventh round of their middleweight bout at Emperors Palace on Wednesday night.

 

The highly rated Englishman did not impress many of the spectators at the venue near Kempton Park but he won every round against an opponent who was not expected to extend him.

 

Murray took his time in the first couple of rounds, holding his gloves high, moving well and picking his punches. But Tetteh was not overawed even though his lack of footwork made him look rather clumsy.

 

The Ghanaian complained of a head butt in the fifth round after dropping to one knee during an exchange a little earlier. Referee Thabo Spampool did not rule it a knockdown and the spectators waited in vain for some fireworks.

 

Tetteh did not seem to be in any distress when he decided to quit after six rounds. His record dropped to 29-11-2, with 10 knockouts as Murray’s improved to 21-1-1, including 12 wins inside the distance.

 

Murray, 31, won the interim WBA middleweight title in November 2012 when he stopped Jorge Navarro in the sixth round. He suffered his only defeat on 27 April last year when Sergio Gabriel Martinez beat him on points when he challenged the Argentine fighter for the WBC belt.

 

The main bout on the undercard of the Golden Gloves box-‘n-dine tournament provided much more entertainment.

 

Junior welterweights Paul Kamanga from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and southpaw Adam de Moor engaged in a tactical battle until Kamanga took charge in the fourth round of a ten-rounder.

 

De Moor came back in the fifth to rattle the muscular Kamanga with a few damaging punches but took serious punishment in the sixth as the fight turned into a scrap.

 

When De Moore went down from a body shot in the seventh round and found himself in trouble on the ropes immediately afterwards, his trainer, Colin Nathan, tossed in the towel.

 

The bout ended 2 minutes 36 seconds into the round and the 20-year-old Kamanga’s tko win took his record to 11-0, with 8 knockouts. De Moore’s dropped to 10-2; 7.

 

FOURIE DEFEATS JAKO

 

Earlier, junior welterweights Luyanda Jako and Grant Fourie showed good hand speed and little appreciation of the value of defence as they exchanged snappy punches in a bout scheduled for six rounds.

 

Fourie decked Jako in the second round and stopped him with a right to the jaw after 2 minutes 14 seconds of the fourth to take his record to 15-6-1, including 9 knockouts. Jako’s dropped to 10-6-1; 4.

 

Well-conditioned super-middleweights Vhonani Tshidaboni and Page Tshesane got the show on the road with an entertain rematch over six rounds. It ended in a draw, with Tshsane winning 58-56 on one card, Tshidaboni ahead 59-55 on another and the third judge making it 57-57. Tshesane had won their first match on points last year.

 

There was no lack of action either when junior welterweights Herbert Nkabiti and Boitshepo Mandawe went to war in a bout scheduled for eight rounds. However, Nkabiti spoiled it all by also just giving up after 65 seconds of the fifth, leaving referee Jaap van Nieuwenhuizen no choice but to call an end to the bout.

 

Mandawe improved his record to 27-3, with 17 knockouts. Nkabiti’s fell to 9-1-1; 8.

 

Martin Bakole, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, stopped the much smaller Chris Mabambo in the second round of a heavyweight 4-rounder. Referee Spampool called it over after 1 minute 4 seconds of the round.

 

Bakole improved to 3-0; 3 and Mabambo is still without a win after four bouts.