NEWCASTLE, England – Once again, Namibia’s leading Welterweight professional boxer Sacky ‘Izinyoka’ Shikukutu, gave one of those spirited performances where he fought with gusto but it was just not enough to get the better of the more experienced Frankie Gavin, who failed to set the place alight although he was the clear victor.
Perhaps two southpaws just did not make for a good mix, with Gavin receiving an early shock when he was on the floor in the second round and although it looked more a case of Gavin being off balance, the referee applied the first count of Gavin’s pro career. Apart from the occasional wicked left hooks to the body from the hard punching Namibian, Gavin comfortably out-boxed the strong but crude challenger, using his superior skills, his advantages in height and reach and good movement to make the Namibian miss, whilst scoring with hard counters himself. In the end, it was a comfortable but uninspiring victory for the very talented Gavin, who scored 118-109 twice and 117-111. It was the second defense of his Commonwealth title for the 28-year-old former World Amateur champion who is rated 4th by the WBA, 5th by the WBO and 8th by the IBF. Meanwhile, Shikukutu, the incumbent interim WBO African champion, had lost only one of his last nine fights, but this was too big a step up in opposition for the Namibian.
By Staff Reporter