In a career-best performance, junior bantamweight Ricardo Malajika completely outboxed British and Commonwealth champion Marcel Braithwaite over 12 rounds Friday night at Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng, South Africa.

The first round started with Malajika launching a steady stream of jabs. He slammed in right hooks to the body of Braithwaite, who stalked his opponent behind a high guard. 

When Braithwaite decided to throw in the second round after eating continuous jabs, Malajika effortlessly ducked underneath his left hook. The South African then brought his right uppercut into play every time Braithwaite looked ready to launch. Malajika also landed his straight right and deftly stepped off to his right before Braithwaite could counter with a left hook.

Braithwaite tried some chopping rights to the head of Malajika in the third but could only find air as his opponent floated away.

Braithwaite switched to the body in the fourth as Malajika alternated his jab to the body and head but could only manage landing a single left uppercut. Malajika showed excellent footwork, stepping and turning to avoid the body punches.

Ricardo Malajika flanked by supporters after his boxing masterclass against Marcel Braithwaite. (Photo by Droeks Malan)

That set the pattern of the fight. Malajika worked the left stick non-stop, checking Braithwaite with his right uppercut every time he tried to set himself. Every now and then, Malajika’s straight right followed the jab. 

Braithwaite finally landed a right in the fifth, only to get stuck again behind the Malajika jab and eat two straight right hands for his trouble.

Malajika landed a left-right-left combination in the sixth and followed that up moments later with another trio of punches: double left hook to the body, right uppercut to the head. Braithwaite let rip with a vicious left hook-right hook combination that found only air.

Malajika just kept pecking away at Braithwaite, piling up the points as the rounds went by. He added a left hook around his opponent’s guard in the ninth, swinging himself away from harm with the momentum of the punch.

In the tenth, a straight right from Malajika bloodied the nose of Braithwaite. When another straight right landed on the button, sending Braithwaite stumbling back into a corner, Malajika snapped out of boxing mode and decided to get his man out of there. He punished Braithwaite with combinations on the ropes as the bell rang.

Malajika landed a big right uppercut to start the eleventh, and Braithwaite used the opening to land a left hook of his own to the top of the head. Malajika ripped in combinations to the body and head of his opponent, who was now bleeding profusely from the nose. On top of that, Braithwaite’s left eye was swelling. Braithwaite showed tremendous heart and tried his best to fight back, but Malajika checked him with a left hook-right uppercut as the round ended.

Perhaps it was out of boredom, perhaps just to make a point, or maybe his left was getting tired, but Malajika started the last round fighting in a southpaw stance. Same thing. He still jabbed Braithwaite to a standstill, this time with his right, while dropping  in straight lefts. He switched back to orthodox towards the end of the round, perhaps seeking to spring a surprise and let his combinations go. Still, Braithwaite was as tough as they come and made it to the final bell.

The identical cards of 120-108 came as no surprise. 

It was a world-class performance by Malajika, whose jab, footwork and command of distance were excellent. He now improves to 13-2 with nine knockouts while Marcel Braithwaite, who competed well against the likes of Sunny Edwards and Jay Harris, drops to 16-4-1. 

In the main supporting bout, Shaun Potgieter became the new South African heavyweight champion when he came from behind to score a rousing 11th-round knockout of Keaton Gomes.

The pair had met before, in 2022 when Gomes blasted Potgieter out in a single round. Potgieter then won five straight to get himself another shot, but a defeat like that is hard to reverse.

Nobody will ever mistake either man for Muhammad Ali or George Foreman, but in their own way Potgieter and trainer Gert Strydom engineered a poor man’s version of the rope-a-dope.

Shaun Potgieter (left) and Keaton Gomes trade punches. (Photo by James Gradidge)

In the first round, it was clear that Potgieter was concentrating on staying away from Gomes’ right, the hand that did him in in their first encounter. Gomes landed a left hook after missing a right, but every time he tried to get momentum going, Potgieter covered up, held on and pushed him back into the corners.

An overhand right backed Potgieter to the ropes in the second before they fell into a mauling clinch again. A big left hook from Gomes had Potgieter looking shaky at the end of the round, but he hung in there.

That was the pattern for the first five rounds. Gomes landed the harder shots, winning the rounds, but Potgieter did everything he could to survive and frustrate his opponent. He had small pockets of success, flurrying to the body occasionally and landing his right uppercut, but Gomes landed the harder, clearer shots.

A victorious Shaun Potgieter. (Photo by Droeks Malan)

The fight changed momentum toward the end of the sixth round. After Gomes sent the spray flying from Potgieter’s head with a right, a punch Potgieter had now seemingly given up trying to avoid, Potgieter drilled his opponent with a right uppercut followed by a right hook that clearly shook Gomes for the first time in the fight.

Gomes was still there, starting the rounds well with his more explosive punches, but Potgieter was steadily clawing his way back into the fight with right uppercuts in the second half of the rounds as Gomes was catching his breath.

In a dramatic ninth, Gomes got off to a good start, landing his left hook and right hands. Just as he looked like he was regaining control of the fight, a big right uppercut from Potgieter rocked him, and he almost fell through the ropes as Potgieter just kept on throwing the same shot.

Both were breathing heavily and looked spent in the tenth. Gomes mustered most of the offensive output, possibly shading the round.

Potgieter came out for the eleventh, dug deep and decided to go for broke. A huge right uppercut sent Gomes reeling back into the corner. Potgieter let rip with two right hooks, a left hook and another right hook that sent Gomes slumping forward to the canvas. He somehow dragged himself up, but with blood streaming out of his mouth, he was counted out on his feet at the 0:48 mark.

Shaun Potgieter takes his record to 9-1 with six knockouts while Keaton Gomes drops to 10-3.

In a crossroads bout, junior middleweight Brandon Thysse got back into the win column with a 10-round split decision over young upstart Darrin Rossouw.

Both fighters started the first round by jostling for position with their respective jabs, but a hard left hook and straight right before the bell edged it for Thysse.

Rossouw was aggressive and kept throwing. He had some success, landing a short left hook around the guard of Thysse in the second, but many of his punches were blocked on the arms and gloves of his opponent.

Thysse put Rossouw on the ropes in the third, digging in right hands to the body and ducking under most of what a seemingly frustrated Rossouw was throwing. 

In the fourth, a huge right followed by an uppercut prompted a smile from Rossouw, who let his hands go but was spun around in the corner by Thysse. Thysse was also working the body consistently. Rossouw was landing some short shots on the inside, but they were few and far between.

In the sixth, Thysse knocked Rossouw’s head back with a right. Rossouw landed a right of his own but then proceeded to eat a steady stream of jabs. A massive right by Thysse turned Rossouw sideways and a left hook towards the end of the round twisted his body once again, but incredibly, Rossouw just soaked it up.

Thysse seemed to bank the first six rounds, his experience showing in the form of better defense, distance control and punch accuracy.

The momentum started shifting in the seventh with the ever-aggressive Rossouw dropping his level and having some success to the body and head. Thysse straightened him up with a right uppercut that sent the spray flying, but Rossouw didn’t budge and simply dug in a double left hook to the body of Thysse.

Another right uppercut caught Rossouw flush in the chin in the eighth, but somehow he just soaked it up and continued to let his hands go. Thysse landed two big rights for the remainder of the round, but Rossouw landed his shots in close as well.

A left hook from Thysse in the ninth made Rossouw stumble, but he fought past it and outworked Thysse, who appeared to be tiring.

They exchanged punches to the head and body in the final round. A left uppercut from Rossouw strayed low, forcing a time-out, but he backed Thysse to the ropes with two-fisted combinations when the action resumed.

All three judges scored the fight 96-94, two for Thysse, with a dissenting card in favor of Rossouw.

Brandon Thysse improves to 16-4-1 with 12 knockouts. Darrin Rossouw drops to 8-2, but he can hold his head high. He showed tremendous tenacity and a terrific chin. He can come again.

Undercard Results:

Sanele Mbatha Majority Draw 4 Clifford Louw (light heavyweight)

Dylan Prosser UD 4 Fhulufhelo Ramaliba (light heavyweight)

Dean Promnick KO 3 Khumbulani Duma (middleweight)

The card was presented by Rodney Berman of Golden Gloves Promotions.