Tsetsi Davis, the No 1 seeded boxer in the Wray and Nephew Contender boxing series, booked himself a semi-final berth last Wednesday night, when he knocked out Kevin Hylton at 33 seconds of the fifth round, at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium.

It was, however, a far from impressive performance, as Davis was wild, allowed himself to be rattled by the extremely negative tactics of his opponent, whose policy was to 'run and hold all night'. Davis did manage to corner Hylton on a few occasions and eventually caught up with him in the fifth round to deliver the decisive, finishing blow, a left hook to the body, that put Hylton on the canvas for the full count.

main prize

With the main prize of $1 million now in sight, Davis came out a determined man and one could sense that he meant business. The question to be answered, and it was clear at the outset, was how Hylton would perform against Davis. His negative tactics against his earlier opponent, Ian 'Hagler' Smith, had caused a frustrated Smith to commit a deliberate foul, which cost him the fight by disqualification.

It was clear from the opening bell that the tactics would be the same, as Hylton slipped into a negative, defensive groove immediately. He backed away with Davis chasing, but Davis was too wild and missed repeatedly. Hylton received two early cautions for holding, and this spurred him into engaging Davis briefly. Davis was then able to land enough telling blows to take the round.