George Foreman Vs. Ron Lyle it wasn’t, but the heavyweight slugfest that went down yesterday afternoon in South Africa, between names you might not be too familiar with, in Keaton Gomes and Chris Thompson, sure was exciting to watch. The out and out brawl that was masquerading as a boxing match had a ton of drama crammed into its six rounds.
Multiple knockdowns, points deducted for fouls, a cut eye, some furious trading, and, it seemed for a while, a near-miraculous comeback. In the end, Gomes got the stoppage win in round six, but the final result doesn’t tell the full story. Not at all.
Fighting for the South African and the African Boxing Union heavyweight belts, Gomes and Thompson went at it right at the sound of the opening bell. Gomes, the smaller man, dropped his southpaw opponent heavily with a sharp right hand to the head. Thompson got back up but he was then dropped again by another right. The fight was just getting going. Rising again, Thompson hung on for dear life, somehow surviving to hear the bell to end the round, but not before he was hit with more shots and bundled over for a third time for what could have been counted as another knockdown.
The action continued, with the fight taking turns in being messy, exciting, and ungainly. But the fight was, at all times, don’t blink stuff. Gomes was in charge throughout the second and third rounds, but then, in the fourth, Thompson made fans think he might be able to sensationally turn things around. Thompson landed some tasty head shots and he had Gomes looking uncomfortable. But Thompson was also guilty of more holding and he was deducted a point by the referee.
Thompson had a good fifth round, his blows opening a cut under Gomes’ left eye. The fans were going nuts now, as was the South African commentating duo. Gomes looked by far the more fatigued fighter at this point, with Thompson’s tactics of landing shots and then mauling his rival serving to drain Gomes’ gas tank.
Round six saw Thompson back his man up as he went to work, only for a stray punch to see Thompson deducted a second point by the ref. Gomes then turned the fight back in his favour in dramatic style. Three big right hands from Gomes had Thompson reeling and then taking a knee, the fight finally knocked out of him. Thompson staggered back up once again but the ref had seen enough, calling the fight. It was over. It had been a fight right from the streets.
Gomes is now 9-2(7). Thompson is now 12-3-1.
Again, neither guy is a big name and yesterday’s fight was far from pretty. But it was hectic, it was a whole lot of fun to watch, and both men gave their all.
It’s well worth checking out on YouTube.