Feldman, a 20 year old junior middleweight nicknamed "The Maccabee," came out hammering Skhakoane's body and then moving to get out of range. Shakoane, a 32 year old from South Africa's Northwest province, went for broke firing hard wild shots at the taller Feldman. Josh, a southpaw from Cape Town, executed his strategy of sticking the body and moving expertly. "He came out rushing me," Feldman said after the fight, "and I picked my shots [well.]"
About a minute in, Josh got in close to Shakoane and dug a right hook to the body on an angle. He sensed Shakoane weakening and then stayed in close, firing well-placed combinations without stifling his work. Shakoane backed up to the ropes and ate several clean blows before referee David Van Nieuwenhuizen jumped in a minute and 23 seconds into the opening round.
Just before Van Nieuwenhuizen waved off the contest, Feldman turned his back to his defeated foe in a stone cold display of badassery. Improving to 5-0 with 3 KOs, Feldman impressed in this fight. He had a clear game plan, adjusted when the situation changed, and finished the opponent quickly- all in under half a round. After the fight, he declared, "Whoever they put in front of me, I'll take out." Shakoane is now 1-4 with one KO.
Doron "Buzzsaw" Zinman, also a 20 year old from Cape Town, started his fight pressuring Mjoli, a 20 year old nicknamed "Hurricane." Both men came out fighting in the opening minute of their pro careers. The taller Mjoli proved to be a very tough B-side for a pro debut. He effectively countered Zinman's offense early in the fight, landing straight and looping rights to the head just before Zinman could land his wider shots.
Midway through the first round, Zinman scored with an overhand right while Mjoli was on the ropes, which convinced the Hurricane to downgrade his attack to just a rainstorm. Mjoli connected with a couple of left hooks the rest of the round, but not much else. Zinman's left eye was marked up by the end of the torrid three minutes of action.
Mjoli used the jab to stick-and-move in the second which negated Zinman's pressure. Doron showed good defense slipping under Mjoli's straight attempts. Zinman's overhand rights were the most powerful punches of the round, but Mjoli boxed well. He landed a nice one-two and found a home for his straight right.
Both of the first two rounds were close with Zinman landing the harder shots but Mjoli's punches more precise. The Jewish Boxing Blog gave both rounds to Mjoli, which meant Zinman was in a serious hole even to come away with a draw.
The blond buzzsaw responded by dominating the third round. He doubled up his jab, landed left hooks, straight rights, counter straighter rights, and generally showed a lot more variety in his offense. He knocked Mjoli around the ring like a pinball. Zinman, a shorter pressure fighter, was headhunting though. When he launched a left hook to the body and then followed with a crunching right to the head, Mjoli went down in pain. Masibulele showed a lot of heart to get back up.
Mjoli boxed well at range to start the fourth round, but it soon turned into all-out running in the face of Zinman's pressure. When Mjoli tried to hold, Doron kept pounding away with his free hand, the right. Toward the end of the fight, he scored with a punishing left hook and a couple of menacing overhand rights in succession.
Zinman looked very good in the third round, showing an educated punch selection. He had a great motor and clear power, but some flaws too. He threw- and got away with- some careless punches: including a lead left uppercut and a leaping left hook. He chased the agile Mjoli a bit too often instead of cutting off the ring. And the shorter pressure fighter neglected the body too much. When he did go downstairs, he scored a knockdown.
The judges' scores were announced 40-35, 38-37, and curiously 37-35, a score that is nonsensical and was hopefully read incorrectly, (it was, it was actually 38-37) all for Doron. The JBB scored it 38-37 for Zinman.
After the fight, Doron acknowledged, "He was a game opponent. I was glad I got the knockdown." He hopes to fill up the calendar next year with fights. "This is the beginning of the rest of my life," Zinman said. "I'm so grateful."
