Johannesburg – Thabiso Mchunu is eyeing the World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiserweight title after battering Nigerian-born American Olanrewaju Durodola to a convincing points victory for the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) title in Atlantic City at the weekend.
Mchunu's trainer Sean Smith revealed this on Monday, as his fighter's current WBC ranking as fourth contender is expected to improve further when the new ratings are released next month.
He is one of a handful of South African boxers to be ranked among the top 15 of all four of the most highly-rated boxing associations, the WBC, the WBA, the IBF and the WBO, and the respected and authoritative Ring Magazine.
The judges ruled unanimously in favour of the South African by 96-93, 97-92 and 98-91 margins.
After his bruising points victory over Durodola, Mchunu said he was head-hunting for the champions of all the major organisations.
“But the WBC title is the one we are eyeing right now, and with Thabiso making such a strong impression in his last two fights in the United States, we're hoping to arrange a match-up against the Poland-born champion, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, that would be a money-spinner on American TV,” Smith said.
The South African first came into prominence by decimating all opposition in the Golden Gloves' Super Eight series, enhancing his reputation internationally by following this up with a convincing success over former heavyweight contender Eddie Chambers.
Mchunu and Durodala went into the fight at Atlantic City with impressive records as knock-out specialists and when the South African floored his opponent for a nine-count as early as the second round, it appeared another early ending was on the cards.
However, Durodala showed courage and grit by fighting back manfully and lasting the full 10 rounds.
Mchunu nevertheless improved his career record to 15 wins and one defeat, and is keen to become South Africa's only current WBC champion. – Sapa