A Stumble on the Way to the Top: An Interview with Doron Zinman

This past April, Doron "Buzzsaw" Zinman suffered his first professional defeat when all three judges had Thabang Mofula winning by a point. It was a tough loss to take early in one's career, especially since Doron deserved to win. Though Mofula produced his share of eye-catching shots, Zinman was the aggressor and landed the harder punches.

"I've rewatched the fight countless times," Doron told The Jewish Boxing Blog. "A fair result - with the point deduction and me taking control in the fourth round - should have been a win or at least a draw. That being said, it is what it is and on that night his hand was raised."

Zinman gave Mofula credit, "He is a skilled boxer, more so than my previous opponents and obviously more experienced." Doron said he wanted the step-up after defeating three debutants to begin his career. "There's no excuse [ for the loss]."

The 22 year old from Cape Town, South Africa is eyeing a rematch. "I believe I will stop him in the rematch," he declared.

"For me to win, I just needed to throw more punches, be more active, and not get caught up with what he was doing," Doron reflected. A higher work-rate would have prevented Mofula from picking Zinman off as the Cape Town man maneuvered to the inside and also from countering so effectively. Those shots in particular seemed to catch the judges' attention.

Doron added, "I'll focus on breaking him down from the first bell." In a longer fight, Zinman would have done just that, but in a four-rounder, he needed to hit the gas from the beginning. "I planned to do that, but it just never came to fruition on the night."

After spending a good amount of time in Johannesburg the last couple of years, Doron is back in Cape Town. He now runs Top Floor Boxing, a gym in his hometown. "The gym has been around for many years. I realized it is being under-utilized," he explained. "I want to make it into something special, make it somewhere I would want to train and people in the community would, too."

The loss actually served as a springboard to enhance his local gym. As for his pro career, he hopes the Mofula decision was just a brief stumble on his way up. "I want to fight before the end of the year," he said. "I'm living in Cape Town, so I'm working on finding the right coach to work with in preparation for my next fight."

Hopefully, he finds that connection sooner rather than later, because the fans love watching the all-action blond Buzzsaw in action.

Tristan Mizrahi to Fight Next Month

Tristan Mizrahi is 2-0 with 2 KOs. On October 18, three days after his 30th birthday, he'll face his third opponent named Garcia. This one, Andrew, signifies a real step-up for Mizrahi.

The Miami, Florida-based fighter has kickboxing and MMA experience as well as boxing. "I started kickboxing when I was 12," Mizrahi told The Jewish Boxing Blog. "Boxing was always a big part of my training. I've basically been around combat sports most of my life."

In 2021, he stopped Oscar Garcia in the second round. Tristan was a junior welterweight for that bout. Last year, he fought Oscar Garcia Silverio at super middleweight and stopped him in the first. Both fights took place in Sousa, Dominican Republic in miniscule rings. Mizrahi took control of center ring in both contests and dominated with a mixture of poise and straight punches.

"Over the years, boxing has become more of a focus for me," Mizrahi said. He has been coaching youth boxers for over ten years and also works with adults. "I really enjoy being able to take everything I've learned over the years and pass it on to other people."

The October fight against Andrew Garcia, a 30 year old from Hialeah with a 4-1 record, will be Tristan's U.S. debut. The middleweight contest is a chance for Mizrahi's pro career to build some momentum

Yan Zak KOs Peter Msyoka

Undefeated cruiserweight prospect Yan Zak battered Peter Msyoka on his way to a fourth round knockout victory at the Meydan Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates today. Despite being knocked down three times, Msyoka proved trickier than expected.

A 32 year old from Tanzania, Msyoka began the fight attempting to win. Zak, a 26 year old Israeli, remained patient, applying front-foot pressure. Msyoka used his jab effectively, but when he let go of a right to the body, he received a hard counter left for his trouble. it wouldn't be the last time for that particular sequence of events. As a result, Msyoka held, something he would do often throughout the fight.

Towards the end of the opening round, Msyoka fired a wild right on the break. It missed, but he was sternly admonished for the infraction. The rest of the round was a battle of feints.

Zak felt comfortable by the second round. He boxed with his hands down, feinting and probing the guard. A lightning right to the temple forced Msyoka to bend down and he took a punch to the back of the head while on his way down. That punch was legal because Msyoka fell into the path of the punch. For the rest of the round, the Tanzanian held Zak tighter than Julius Nyerere to the concept of Ujamaa. Zak zipped some popping counters, but he was a bit wild gunning for the knockout at times.

Yan was perhaps too anxious to land the perfect punch in the third. He tried to set up a pull counter but couldn't quite time it. Msyoka's hands were active, but Zak proved adept at catching his shots. Both men showed good upper body movement, which played a role in slowing down the amount of effective offense from the other.

In the fourth, Msyoka landed two punches to the body but took a hard right to the temple. Another right to the body resulted in another Zak counter right, which put Mysoka down. A bit later, a clubbing right forced Msyoka to stumble around the ring as the end crept closer. A stunning straight right-left combination flush to Msyoka's face, snapped back his head. He quickly took a knee, shook his head, and remained down for the count of ten with nine seconds remaining in the round. 

Zak improves to 9-0 with 7 KOs. Msyoka is now 15-3 (15 KOs). It was the third time he's been stopped. After the fight, the promotion ambushed Zak a little bit by bringing another 9-0 cruiserweight, Tamba Merlin, into the ring and goading them to fight in the near future. Zak didn't take the bait and handled to encounter with class.