JOHANNESBURG – It’s back to square one for cruiserweight Thabiso Mchunu after a disappointing 10-round defeat to little-known Constantin Bejenaru of Romania at the Mohegan Sun in the USA on Sunday.
Fighting for the WBC International title, and a chance to enter the top-10, a sub-par Mchunu lost by scores of 97-92, 97-92 and 98-91.
It was a safety-first fight between two defensive-minded boxers, with neither choosing to engage.
Instead, there was plenty of feinting, pawing and missing, although the Moldovan scored a crucial flash knockdown in the seventh to confirm his superiority.
Other than that, there were no fireworks, with Mchunu unable to press the action down the stretch.
The crowd kept waiting for the action to erupt, but the southpaws were content to see out the rounds without taking risks.
It was a major setback for the South African, especially as promoter Rodney Berman had seen Bejenaru fight and was certain that Mchunu had his measure.
“We’ll sit down and talk, but it will be a long, hard road back from here. I can’t imagine what might have gone wrong, but boxers have off nights.”