Boxer Ellen Simwaka’s dream to win the vacant African Boxing Union (ABU) bantamweight title was left hanging after her 10-round title contest against South African Simagele Hadebe ended in a draw.
The fight was staged on Friday at Portuguese Hall in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Following the draw, there is a high possibility that the pair can meet in a rematch for the third time to fight for the vacant belt.
Simwaka dominated the first five rounds with superb combinations but she started slowing down after the fifth round.
From round seven, it was clear that her legs were too tired to continue dominating the fight.
This allowed Hadebe to fight back and claim a draw during the contest which appeared to be working in the Malawian’s favour.
Simwaka said she believes she had done enough to win the contest.
“If I was fighting in other countries, I could have won outright,” she said.
One of Simwaka’s managers, Steve ‘Mawenzi’ Msiska, described the result as fair but said they would ask for a rematch to claim the belt.
“Our boxer put up a good performance but the judges thought differently. Anyway, a draw is a fair result. we will return to the drawing board to come back strongly,” Msiska said.
The first meeting of the two ended in controversial defeat for Simwaka, 20.
Following the draw, Simwaka’s record is at six wins including four knockouts, three defeats and two draws whereas Hadebe has four wins, including a knockout, a loss and two draws.
Simwaka was bidding to emulate compatriot Anisha Bashir who won the ABU super lightweight belt in December last year after stopping Consolata Masunga of Kenya in the ninth round.
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