By Ron Jackson

South African welterweight champion Mziwoxolo “The General” Ndwayana had to come back from a knockdown in the third round before he retained the title with a seventh round knockout over Odwa Gaxa at the Indoor Sports Centre in Uitenhage over the past weekend.

Ndwayana 18-4-2; 12 was making the first defense of his title that he won on a seventh round stoppage against Shaun Ness September 23, 2018.

After a quiet opening round the champion took the fight to the No. 3 rated Gaxa 5-3; 5 in the second round scoring with some big shots to the head and body.

In round three Gaxa nearly upset the champion when he sent him down for an eight count.

However, Ndwayana managed to survive the round as he backed off around the ring.

Ndwayana came back strongly in rounds five and six and in the seventh round a right to the jaw sent the challenger down for the full count.