We were robbed, complains Raider Muleba's trainer

The trainer of the now former national Female Lightweight Champion, Raider “The Earthquake” Muleba, Mr John “Smoking Joe” Nemakonde, was furious after his protégé lost her national title to Bonita van Jaarsveld on points at the Vodacom Dome in Midrand last Sunday afternoon.

According to Nemakonde, Raider won every single round except one but was robbed by the judges. “This was daylight robbery. She was on top of her game for the whole fight, and I was surprised when the judges came to such a decision. I am not a cry-baby, but this is unacceptable,” he said.

Speaking to Raider earlier this week after the fight, she said she had known even before the fight had started that if she wanted to win, she was going to have to achieve a knockout. “I did all I could, and I hit her with my best punches, but Bonita took the punishment and refused to go down. But I was not going to defend that title, and I had already challenged Nosipho Bell for the national junior lightweight title,” she said.

Raider will face Bell in the ring in Bloemfontein on 27 October. “The fight was already approved when I accepted the challenge from Bonita, but after taking on Bell, I would like to challenge Bonita again to settle our business,” she said.

Date:06 October 2023

By: Victor Mukwevho

Victor Mukwevho Ne-vumbani joined the Mirror during it's inception in 1990. He joined the SABC newsroom in 1995, and was known by  listeners as "A u fhedzisela ari". He was a news editor for The Tembisan Newspaper from 2007 to 2015. He rejoined the Limpopo Mirror newspaper in June 2022 as a freelance journalist.

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