Ghana's Kofi Jantuah knocked out Brazilian Ricardo Manuel in the fourth round in an International Boxing Federation (IBF) Intercontinental Middleweight title fight at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi at the weekend.
The world-rated Ghanaian, who returned to the ring after a long lay off, showed no sign of rustiness as he reenacted his punching power, which put him among the top contenders until he lost in a title fight to Ugandan-born American, KassimOmar.
Kofi had the crowd behind him and did not let down as he carried the fight to his opponent from the first bell and scored with stinging right jabs which were precise in timing and delivery.
The pressure became intense in the final seconds of the first and the Brazilian might have been very happy to hear the terminal bell of the round.
Ricardo proved his gameness in the second and painted a different picture from the first round as he came out smoking, catching Jantuah with a thunderous right on the jaw.
Kofi was visibly stunned but Ricardo failed to press, thus letting the Ghanaian off the hook.
The Ghanaian responded in the third round with multiple punches, which gave no breathing space to his opponent who buckled and wobbled and became vulnerable to Kofi's powerful punches.
The Jantuah pressure increased in the fourth and Ricardo became a steady target until he appeared defenceless, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
In a post-fight interview, Kofi said he was inspired by the recent successes of compatriots Joshua Clottey, whom he described as his "very good friend" and Joseph Agbeko, the current International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight and bant amweight champions respectively and promised he would work hard to become a real world champion very soon.
There was drama at the ring side when former World Boxing Association (WBA) welt erweight champion Ike "Bazooka" Quartey wept uncontrollably after Kofi's victory.
The former world champion said he was moved to tears by the atmosphere at the stadium as he remembered the time he enjoyed such support and respect from Ghanaians.
