James Ssekandi
8 November 2009
"For over three years, my manager (Craig Christian) promised to source a title fight for me," an over enjoyed Jackson Asiku told the Daily Monitor on phone after stopping Mexico's Heriberto Ruiz on Friday night to capture the IBO featherweight crown.
Ugandan born Australian based Asiku (25-3, 13 KOs) beat Ruiz (42-8-2, 24 KOs) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, in eight rounds at the Parramatta Leagues club, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
"I turned down offers in America (Golden glove and Top Rank), but I didn't panic. So this is a dream come true and I must be home sick now that I have this World belt," said Asiku, who added that patience had paid off.
In an action packed contest both boxers knocked chips off each other in all of the rounds. According to fightnews.com, Ruiz was in trouble in round seven when Asiku connected with power punches to the head but the bell saved the Mexican from further punishment.
In round eight Ruiz was dropped three times at which point referee Brad Griffiths crowned Asiku at 2:56.
"I prepared for this fight and travelled to America sparring with Chris John."
Asiku had the best win of his career in 2009 when he became the first man to stop former IBF 130 pound champion Gairy St Clair by scoring a TKO win in nine rounds.
Asiku is the latest in a string of Ugandans to win recognised world championships. The others are; Ayub Kalule, Cornelius Boza-Edwards, John Mugabi and Ouma.
Result
J. Asiku BT H. Ruiz
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
