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Jason Cunningham faced a knockout defeat to former two-weight world champion Zolani Tete in his last bout. The bout took place on July 2, on the undercard of Joe Joyce vs. Christian Hammer.
Cunningham said:
“I got a concussion from the fight, so my head didn’t feel like it was mine for the first week. I needed to do a good bit of rest. But like I said I was just getting fed up, you kind of need routine I need to be focused, I need to be focused on something. This last three weeks if anything has told me that I need to be involved in something for when boxing is finished, which I have discussed and have something in place ready which I want to do but I definitely need some sort of routine in my life.”
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Watch the full interview here:
From the onset, Tete looked to be in control of the bout. The South African took charge of the opening rounds via his jab, and Cunningham found it difficult to land his own shots. Then in the fourth round, Tete sent Cunningham to the canvas with a left hook to the body.
Cunningham bravely rose to his feet, but it would only get worse. With his opponent clearly still dazed, Tete went for the finish and unleashed a series of punches towards Cunningham.
As Jason Cunningham went down, his head bounced off the canvas. The Doncaster-born fighter would then lay motionless on the ground as paramedics rushed to his aid.
Watch the finish here:
Zolani Tete’s defeat of Jason Cunningham has brought him back into world title contention
Entering the bout, Jason Cunningham was on a run of seven straight victories. ‘The Iceman’ had defeated former European Champion Terry Le Couviour, Brad Foster and Gamal Yafai in his last three bouts. Progressing from domestic to European level, the next level would be world level.
Zolani Tete, on the other hand, had recently lost his WBO World Bantamweight Championship. A loss to John Riel Casimero, in which ‘The Last Born’ was knocked down twice, raised questions as to whether Tete still belongs at the world level.
Tete would decisively answer those doubts by proving to be a class above Jason Cunningham. Tete would also display the outstanding punch power that has served him throughout his career.
Watch Zolani Tete's 11 second KO here:
