LONDON—Zolani Tete took just 11 seconds to record the fastest knockout in world championship fight history in Belfast on Saturday night.
The South African etched his name into the record books when he flattened countryman Siboniso Gonya with his first punch to retain his World Boxing Organisation bantamweight crown.
Tete floored his opponent with a devastating right hook after just five seconds and the referee stopped the contest officially just six seconds later when it became clear Gonya was out cold.
It is the fastest knockout in a world championship bout, eclipsing the record held by WBO superbantamweight champion Daniel Jimenez who stopped Harald Geier in 17 seconds in 1994.
“I’ve been preparing so hard for this fight,” Tete told the BoxNation television channel. “I knew Gonya wasn’t going to last.”
Promoter Frank Warren added: “He was gone before he hit the canvas. Tete is something special.”
On the same card, local hero Jamie Conlan failed in his attempt to win a world title when the Northern Irishman was stopped in the sixth round by Filipino International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas in a one-sided contest.
Ancajas came to work early, sending the Belfast hero to the canvass in the first round.
That would be the beginning of the end for Conlan, who suffered a cut above his left eye in the second round, dropped to the floor again in the third and fourth rounds, before referee Steve Gray stopped the action in the sixth when he dropped to his knees for a fourth time with just a little more than 2 minutes left in the sixth round.
Promoted by Manny Pacquiao, whose footsteps Ancajas has said he wants to follow, the 25-year-old Filipino champ appears ripe for a fight in the United States.
It was Ancajas’ 28th win with a loss and draw, while Conlan absorbed his first loss in 20 fights.
Ancajas defended his crown for the third straight time since winning it from McJoe Arroyo of Puerto Rico in September 2016.