WBA Pan African junior featherweight champion Tshifhiwa Munyai retained his title when he stopped Emmanuel Quartey of Ghana on a controversial ninth round stoppage at the Katikati Hall in Cathcart, Eastern Cape on Saturday.

The shorter Quartey 14-2; 14 attacked from the opening bell and dropped Munyai in the fourth round but referee Wally Snowball missed the punch and ruled it as a slip.

Munyai arose on rubbery legs and was sent down again with an uppercut and just managed to beat the count. The Ghanaian continued to apply pressure but Munyai weathered the storm and began to fight back.

The South African staggered Quartey with a big right hand to the head in the sixth round and picked up the pace through rounds seven and eight.

In the ninth round after backing his opponent up against the ropes and landing a flurry of punches the referee waved the fight off. The Ghanaian’s corner complained bitterly about the stoppage which they felt was premature.

In a poor contest Bongani Silila stopped the number three ranked challenger Loyiso Dayamani in the fourth round to retain his SA junior flyweight title.

The fight was a scrappy and ugly affair as Dayamani held and wrestled throughout and had a point deducted by the referee.

The southpaw Silila who was making the first defence of his title improved his record to 12-3-2; 8 and Dayimani’s reported record dropped to 3-9-3; 1.

The tournament was presented by Mamali Promotions.