BY SABELO GWEBU
BOXING – Eswatini top boxer Thabiso Dlamini met the legendary boxer Roy Levesta Jones Jr at the Moroccan Golden Belt series.
Jones Jr is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight, and is the only boxer in history to start his professional career at light middleweight and go on to win a heavyweight title.
Dlamini who is currently on a year-long training in Russia courtesy of the Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) and the Russian Boxing Federation competed at the Golden Belt Series and lost in the quarterfinals.
“It was a close fight and I’m happy with my performance. The tournament had the best boxers from all this countries and I did not have stage fright because I’m exposed to the best boxers in Russia. I can see progress in my fights and did not sure any signs of fatigue,” Dlamini said.
As an amateur, Jones Jr represented the United States at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the light middleweight division after one of the most controversial decisions in boxing history.
Jones is considered by many to be one of the greatest boxers of all time, pound for pound, and left his mark in the sport’s history when he won the WBA heavyweight title in 2003, becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title in 106 years.
In 1999 he became the undisputed light heavyweight champion by unifying the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles. During his prime, Jones was known for possessing exceptional hand speed, athleticism, footwork, explosiveness, punching power, movement and reflexes.
In Morocco, Dlamini was in the company of Russian boxers who won 12 gold, five silver and five bronze medals.
“Impressions are very positive, bright. This is what we have been waiting for a long time. This, of course, pleases, motivates. It was very nice when we stood on the pedestal, played our anthem and raised our flag. For the sake of this, we are boxing,” said the winner of the international boxing tournament Dmitry Dvali when talking to Blitz. This tournament was the first after the decision of the International Boxing Association to allow Russians and Belarusians without restrictions. An impressive 38 countries took part.
