Mthalane: No turning back from retirement

Mthalane: No turning back from retirement

The curtain came down on one of the greatest boxers to have come from KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa, as two-time former IBF flyweight world champion Moruti Mthalane hung his gloves up at the weekend.

Just a week before his 40th birthday, Mthalane bowed out in style by beating Diomel Diocos of the Philippines on points at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Sunday, showing his class one last time in front of a packed crowd. 

The judges scored the bout 100-90, 99-93, and 99-91.

Having been in professional boxing for 22 years, with a proud record of 40 wins, only three losses and 26 knockouts along the way, Mthalane says there™s no turning back in his decision to call time on his fighting career.

"I think I'm 100 percent sure. It's not like it's something that came yesterday, I sat down and decided, 'No, I think it's my last day in boxing as a boxer,'" said 'Babyface'.

Mthalane added that his plan was not to finish the bout via a knockout in order to entertain the fans, who came out in their numbers to watch his career finale.

"First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who came here to support me. It was a successful tournament, with the last fight of my career, so I'm very happy. Thanks, South Africa, special people from KZN, I'm very happy that they came in numbers to support me," he added.

"When I watched him on video, it was like, 'It's easy to fight him.' But his style is very awkward because I was struggling to get inside, [and] when I was inside I was struggling to punch because he was putting his head down. But I'm happy, I used my experience and I was able to defeat him."

By Velile Mnyandu