Cheka extends unbeaten record
Sunday, 02 January 2011 21:33
By Majuto Omary
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Francis Cheka proved his invincibility on Saturday following a point victory over Mada Maugo in the eight-round middleweight bout at PTA Hall here.
The Morogoro-based boxer, who is also the Universal Boxing Organisation (UBO), International Circuit Boxing (ICB) and World Boxing Commission (WBC) middleweight inter-continental champion, managed to extend his longstanding unbeaten streak at the expense of the outspoken boxer.
Cheka scored 79-78, 79-78, 79-79 from the judging trio of Ibrahim Kamwe, Abdallah Mpemba and Omari Yazidu respectively.
The bout, which was graced by the Dar es Salaam Special Zone Police Commander, Suleiman Kova, saw hundreds of boxing fans throng the venue.
Cheered by hordes of home fans, Maugo embarked on the fight imposingly, forcing the fancied opponent to the ropes severally.
Maugo cornered the Morogoro-born pugilist with vicious punches in the second round to the delight of his fans, but the latter refused to go down.
The first two rounds signalled that Maugo would have ended Cheka's domination in the ring, but the winner of multiple titles regained his poise in the third round.
Maugo, seemingly overconfident in the third round, saw his brilliant start snapped as Cheka came into the fight, unleashing power-packed punches that earned him undisputable points.
The fifth round was even worse for the boxer who started the fight on a high note, as Cheka picked from where he left to batter Maugo mercilessly.
Cheka could have registered a knockout win in the same round, but failed to release killer punches, thus giving Maugo a chance to reorganise.
The Mara-born boxer got the sixth round underway strongly, employing uppercuts to hit tired Cheka.
His resurgence made the fight look unpredictable. However, Cheka was too clinical after most of his punches in the remaining rounds earned him points.
After being announced the winner, Cheka, who was all smiles, boasted that his action always describes the kind of a boxer he is.
He said: "I don't talk too much the way others do, but my action in the ring speaks.
"I'm delighted to win this bout, it was a tough one, but eventually I proved that I'm unbeatable in the country." Asked whether he would meet Japhet Kaseba in March, Cheka belittled the kick boxer saying he was not of his calibre.
"Kaseba is an ordinary boxer, he can't help improve my game, so at present I am focusing on winning more international bouts," he said.
Cheka was aiming at grabbing coveted titles like the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (BF.
Speaking after the bout, Maugo claimed that the judges ruled in favour of Cheka.
"Cheka fought well in the fifth round only, I wonder where he got all these points... the judges have demoralised me," Maugo said.