Janiola in controversial loss vs. Myekeni

By Dennis Principe

16.02 - TOP lightflyweight contender Wyndell Janiola of the Philippines absorbed a heartbreaking defeat in his first attempt at the world crown the other night at the Meropa Sun, Polokwane in South Africa.

The 22-year-old Janiola lost a shocking unanimous decision to defending International Boxing Organization (IBO) lightflyweight champion Mhikiza Myekeni of South Africa in a result which a local boxing report described as “stunning”.

Janiola dictated the first four rounds of the fight by hitting the sluggish champion with effective left and right combinations.

Myekeni showed some sense of aggression in the next two rounds but Janiola, nicknamed “Braveheart”, continued to dominate the visibly vanquished champion.

The 25-year-old champion from East London opened the 11th round by connecting a powerful punch which momentarily staggered the Cebuano challenger.

However, Janiola regained his momentum in the middle of the same round by pulling off some hard left and right combinations and daring jabs which he continued until the 12th and final round.

Janiola’s impressive performance did not make an impact on the judges as all three of them gave the fight to Myekeni by scores of 117-113, 116-113 and 115-113.

A South African boxing writer noted that most of the spectators who attended the first world championship ever in Polokwane, were convinced that Janiola had done enough to be victorious.

The report added that “Janiola did everything right in the eyes of the fans”.

Despite the loss, Janiola (13-1, 5 KO’s) is still penciled to fight for the Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) lightflyweight crown against one-time WBC title challenger Shingo Yamaguchi (13-3-1, 7 KO’s) on May 12 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.