Mjanja’s a whirlwind in a dominant debut

Tatenda Mjanja….Erdington schoolteacher looks an exciting pro

ERDINGTON’S Tatenda Mjanja has reached out to the public for a ring nickname after making his pro bow.

“Tornado” sprang to mind during his all-action performance on Scott Murray’s Saturday show at Chase Leisure Centre, Cannock.

Manchester’s Josh Cook needed all the guile gathered over 64 bouts to stay with Mjanja over the four round distance, losing every round 40-36.

It’s early days, but the Zimbabwe born super-middle  - Mjanja came here aged 10 – looks a pleasing addition to the professional ranks.

He also appears to have a good following, with 80 fans noisily celebrating his leisure centre success.

“I believe I can go all the way,” the 24-year-old told me. “My main aim is the Midlands title, then the British.”

It needs stiffer tests than Cook to gauge what Mjanja can achieve. His debut certainly can’t be faulted and the fighter seems blessed with a very good engine. “I’m trying to get him a six rounder next,” said manager Naji Al Harbi, “because the longer the distance, the better he’ll be.”

Mjanja – a school PE teacher by day – is a product of Birmingham’s Hi-Tech club where he had 44 bouts, winning 30. He’s reigned at Midlands level, but failed to capture a national title: “I was unlucky,” he shrugged.

“It was always a dream of mine to become a professional and reach the top. I felt it was the right time. I’m a come forward fighter who likes to put on a show. As an amateur, I was getting ‘fight of the night, fight of the night’.”

Of his first paid fight, Mjanja said: “It was good, I had a slippery opponent. There were nerves, but they disappeared as soon as I stepped in the ring.”

Cook is not only slippery, he’s a master in the art of weathering a storm – and Mjanja brought a storm into the ring.

You have to admire journeymen such as Cook (11st 11lbs). He danced to the club music that heralded Mjanja’s entrance – showing very nimble footwork, laughed and chatted to those at ringside. It was another day at the office: workers switching on their computers have shown more anxiety.

When Mjanja (12st 5lbs) unloaded, he dug in, closed shop, at times clung on. Razor-sharp Tatenda doubled his jab in the second, then blazed away with both hands. The newcomer’s sheer volume of punches was impressive.

Cook tried to fight back in third, but couldn’t match his opponent’s workrate. Mjanja rattled off four jabs, then opened the throttle, his hands a blur. Time to recover from a low blow gave Cook a momentary reprieve, then it was back to the grim task of hanging in there.

Mjanja found an even higher gear in the final session, his arms working like pistons for the entire session.

There are things to work on, such as opening up an opponent with feints, but Mjanja looks like spreading a lot of excitement in Midlands rings.