Zolani Tete vs. Siboniso Gonya – Results

By Boxing News - 11/18/2017 - Comments

Image: Zolani Tete vs. Siboniso Gonya - Results

By Jeff Aranow: WBO bantamweight champion Zolani Tete (26-3, 21 KOs) made quick work of #3 WBO Sibonisio Gonya (11-2, 5 KOs) in stopping him in the first 11 seconds of round 1 on Saturday night at The SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Tete, 29, knocked Gonya down with a right hand to the head. The referee Phil Edwards stepped in and stopped the fight immediately. This is the same referee that halted the Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam fight in round 10 last month on October 28 in Cardiff, Wales. In tonight’s fight, Edwards did a good job of stopping the contest when it needed to be stopped. Edward momentarily started the count on Gonya, but then thought otherwise and waived the fight off.

The fight wasn’t supposed to be that kind of a mismatch. Gonya looked like he wasn’t properly warmed up and ready for the kind of firepower that Tete was bringing that early in the contest.

With the win, Tele is hoping to get a unification fight against IBF/WBA bantamweight champion Ryan Burnett. We’ll have to see if Tete’s promoter Frank Warren can swing a deal like that. Burnett is with Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hear, and he seems to have other ideas for him. Hearn is talking about wanting to match Burnett against WBC 118 lb. champion Luis Nery if possible.

”He is one of those special fighters who come along once in a blue moon,” said Warren. ”We are in Belfast because we want Ryan Burnett. If his manager Adam Booth wants to contact me, we will make the fight here in Belfast. He [Tete] is the best and Burnett thinks he’s the best, so we’ll see. Let’s give the fans what they want; the best fighting the best. We can do it here in Belfast in March.”

If Burnett fights Tete, you can expect him to use the same tactics that we saw in his fight with Zhanat Zhakiyanov. Burnett used a lot of holding, wrestling and smothering for 12 rounds to win a dull decision. It wasn’t pretty to watch, but he judges rewarded Burnett by giving him a decision. Burnett will likely be looking to smother/hold Tete even more than Zhakiyanov, because he’s arguably a more dangerous fighter.

Tete might be better off looking to fight Luis Nery in a unification fight, because he’ll actually fight and not spoil for 12 rounds like we saw with Burnett. In an actual fight that doesn’t involve frequent holding, Tete would likely have too much for Burnett. Unfortunately, that’s probably not how the fight will play out. Burnett had success using his nonstop clinching against Zhakiyanov, so he’ll probably try the same tactics against Tete.