Day 3 of the 2024 IMMAF African Championships was full of expectations in Windhoek, Namibia, as the promised Champion vs Champion between 2023 Flyweight champion Damian Muller and 2022 & 2023 Bantamweight champion Maurio Silva didn’t disappoint. With a dominant performance, Muller came out victorious with a second-round TKO. Against an original Bantamweight, not only Damian successfully defended the Flyweight division, he also moved on and is now two wins away from defending his title.
In tomorrow’s semifinals, Damian will face Mafuana Mbungo from Team Angola, who earned a unanimous decision win over Daniel Muleba from Team Zambia. But it was another Flyweight Daniel who stole the show in the first portion of Day 3. Daniel James, from South Africa, showcased tremendous hand speed and striking accuracy to beat Anele Chinembri from Zimbabwe and also move on to the semi-final.
He was pole position to be the Performance of the Day winner, powered by RDX, but a huge performance from Welterweight Quinnservando Malander (pictured above) stole the show. After being almost submitted in Round 1, Malander came out guns blazing in the second round, and threw a perfectly timed hook against Bernard Chisanga, wrapping up a big victory for hosts Team Namibia.
Elsewhere, the fairytale for Alex Junior Kamgang continued as he upset 2023 champion Pedro Calembela to continue a meteoric rise through the Featherweight division.
This Friday, Day 4 of competition will feature the introduction of heavier weight classes with reigning Light Heavyweight champion Mario Stefan among those to watch.
