Dib Defeats Marali on Questionable Decision

dib6534575.jpgBy Tony Krebs: In perhaps the worst decision I’ve ever witnessed, undefeated Australian featherweight contender Billy Dib (21-0, 11 KOs) defeated South African Zolani Marali (19-2, 13 KOs) by a controversial 12-round unanimous decision on Wednesday night to win the vacant IBO super featherweight title at the Entertainment Centre, Newcastle, in New South Wales, Australia. However, Dib, 22, appeared to win only three of the rounds, and in two of them, it very well could have gone to Marali. Dib was knocked down in the 3rd round, getting nailed by a left hand from Marali.

Other than the 1st, 5th and 10th, Marali totally controlled the remainder of the rounds, out-punching the smaller, much less busy Dib by a considerable margin in every round. In a way, it was like watching a German house fighter fight in front of a home crowd, as the Australian fans cheered like mad for every miss that Dib threw, and when on rare occasions that he would actually land a shot, the crowd would erupt in pandemonium as if he had scored a knockout. Marali, who had a three inch height advantage over the 5’7″ Dib, controlled the fight with his jab and right hook, keeping the smaller Dib on the outside. When he would attempt to come in punching range, Dib would have to lunge in quickly to avoid getting hit, yet he often was anyway.

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