Changalawe outclass Egyptian boxer

GHANA: TANZANIA’S Yusuf Changalawe put on a master class performance to beat Egypt’s Abdelrahman Salah Orabi in the round of 16 of the African Games boxing tournament late Sunday.

With this well-deserved victory at an event held at the Bukom Arena in Accra, Ghana, Changalawe advanced to the quarter-finals and avenged the points defeat he suffered to Salah in the finals of the Paris Olympics qualifiers last year in Dakar, Senegal.

Changalawe fought flatfooted for most of the match, but he was calm, steady, and economic in his punches, calculating almost every punch he threw.

He used his probing jab effectively to set up his offensive, piercing Salah’s guard with alarming frequency followed by timely combinations. Whenever Salah attacked, Changalawe embarrassed the Egyptian by smartly dancing his way out of danger.

In the second round, Changalawe complained to the referee about Salah using rabbit punches.

Nonetheless, Changalawe maintained his dominant show in the third round, with chants of “Tanzania! Tanzania!” from a section of fans filling the air.

Salah punched the air, unable to connect any telling blow on the eagle-eyed Changalawe, who displayed a textbook show and the best-ever performance in his boxing career.

Changalawe, a private with the Tanzania People’s Defence Force he joined in 2017, will now meet Maxinillano Bibano of Equatorial Guinea in the quarter-finals.

Before the fight began, both boxers knelt in prayers, but it was Changalawe’s prayer that were answered, much to the chagrin of the balding Salah, a gold medallist at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco.

When Changalawe was declared the winner on points, Salah was shocked, as if he expected to win, yet it was evident that Changalawe had done enough spadework to win the match.

Salah sat on the canvas for about three minutes, despite pleas by the referee to leave the ring. He was still in denial about the outcome of the fight.

Finally, the reality sunk in, he had been beaten fair and square. Salah then stood up and knelt down in prayer again on the canvas before walking dejectedly back to his corner, after that display of unsporting behaviour. He needs lessons on how to accept defeat like a true sportsman.