GIYANI –The message reads, "we promise you blood, sweat and tears" and one of Nick Durant's boxers, Joseph "Smoking Joe" Makaringe, proved that he is not a South African National Welter-weight Champion for nothing, when he defeated Vincent Ngobela in their fight at Giyani Town Hall last Saturday evening.

Under the watchful eye of his respectable manager and trainer, Nick Durant, Makaringe took the fight from round four to round twelve and convinced all the judges to score the fight in his favour.

Makaringe and Ngobela are at present fighting in Gauteng; Makaringe in Durant's camp and Ngobela in Brian Mitchell's camp. As both hail from Giyani, they came home for the fight.

The fight was balanced from round one until round four, when Makaringe started showing his class by using his jabs to collect points until round eleven. Although Ngobela fought like his life depended on it in round twelve, Makaringe, who seemed to be under siege at one stage, again managed to contain Ngobela in the last minutes until the final bell.

By this time, the roaring fans, who were calling Makaringe's name, were already celebrating the victory even before the official announcement of the results.

Although Ngobela, with a record of 13 fights (eight wins, three losses and two draws), was beaten convincingly, he gave a good account of himself, which made it a fight to be considered for the Fight of the Year award. Makaringe now has a record of 21 fights - 19 wins and two losses.

One of the local boxers, Mpho Tshiambaro, lost to Kenneth Masakwane from Gauteng. Although Mpho lost this fight, his performance was very impressive, especially when one takes into consideration that he had been inactive for the past fourteen months.

The tournament, which was promoted by Rainbow Boxing Promotions, was also attended by the MEC for Local Government and Housing, Joe Maswanganyi, Dingaan Thobela and Philip Ndou.