Boxing: Malaysian prodigy Theena KOs opponent in 25 seconds

Boxranx’s “Boxingfest” — KL’s first WBC Professional Boxing promotion relived the glory of the popular sport since the late legendary Muhammad Ali made his title defence against Joe Bugner in 1975.

Among the fight that stole the limelight on Sunday was the fight between young boxing prodigy, Theena Thayalan against Indonesia’s Yudi Hartanto.

Theena defeated his much older opponent in just 25 seconds of the first round.

During the fight, the 19-year-old Theena was calm on his feet as he and Yudi exchanged jabs feeling each other’s strength.

Seconds later, Theena instantly saw an opening and landed a powerful cross that downed Yudi which had unceremoniously knocked him straight out.

Theena, when met after the fight, said expected the contest to end in a swift knockout.

“Yeah, I was expecting the fight to finish quick. When I saw an opportunity, I just went straight for it,” he said in post-fight interview.

Theena, who is also a Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) gold medalist only started boxing a few years ago, but he’s already a veteran of 95 amateur fights.

Few other Malaysians also impressed the packed hall with their world class boxing despite making their professional debut that night.

Malaysian Invasion (MIMMA) welterweight champion Hui Keng Fai tested his skills in the boxing ring against Sam Chan, who was also making his pro boxing debut.

Keng Fai’s hard blow to Chan’s liver area granted him a win at 2.58 minutes of round three.

In another exciting bout, SEA Games veteran, Eddey Kalai mesmerised the crowd with his flashy dodges and techniques as he took on American boxer, Jonathan Clemons.

However, Eddey didn’t fair well as he lost to Clemons via split decision after the fourth round.

In the WBC cruiserweight category between policeman Mohd Hanafi and Sarawakian Stephen Onn, the fight saw the latter taking the win by technical knockout (TKO) in the third round.

Meanwhile in the the main event, the WBC OPBF Featherweight Silver Championship Bout saw Filipino boxer Carlo Magali winning the match via TKO in the 10th round against Sandeep Balhara from India.