Big Zulu’s opponent Brian Dings is demanding a rematch following his defeat in the first round during Sunday afternoon’s Seconds Out boxing match.
Dings told Sunday World this week that no one bribed or paid him to take part in the fight, saying he was ready to make history, “but unfortunately the bout turned into kickboxing”.
He said after watching footage of the fight, he is convinced that the match official should have asked if he was okay to continue with the fight.
“Big Zulu is someone that I respect very much but I don’t feel the match was fair on my side,” said Dings.
“I never got a chance to warm up and I was told 10 minutes before the match that I was up next. I asked the referee why he stopped the match, and he said I was dizzy, hence he stopped the match.”
As he was trying to step back, he alleged, Big Zulu took advantage and attacked him on his way down without the referee protecting him.
Dings further said after the match, the promoter chased people out of the ring, which was falling apart.
“I’m humbly asking for my rematch with good officials and good facilities. That is not a win or knockout, it is called match-fixing,” he said.
Akira Solomon, director of Seconds Out, said it is unfortunate that Dings is under the impression that the fight was fixed.
“Dings was well aware of the fight order and he and his team were made aware of the time of his fight. It is thus his team and his responsibility to prepare for fight time,” she said.
“As for the ring, it was in perfect condition up until Big Zulu was announced as the winner. Twenty or more people rushed into the ring [to congratulate the winner] and it became unstable.”
She added that the ring was put up by Anton Gilmore, saying they trust his capabilities.
Solomon added that it is the referee’s discretion to stop or allow a fight to continue whenever they suspect that a boxer is not coping.
“Due to it being an exhibition [fight], the referee gave him more than 20 seconds to recover. It was evident on the day and in video footage that Dings was still not steady on his feet [after the counting].
“The referee made the right call to protect his safety. There will be no rematch, the only fight that Big Zulu has his eye on is [against] Cassper Nyovest.”
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