Deejay Kriel

Deejay Kriel (born June 20, 1995) is a South African professional boxer who held the IBF mini-flyweight title in 2019.[1]

Deejay Kriel
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
NationalitySouth African
Born (1995-06-20) June 20, 1995
Johannesburg, South Africa
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights20
Wins17
Wins by KO8
Losses2
Draws1

Professional career

Early career

Kriel made his professional debut against Colin Tloubatla on April 10, 2014. He lost the fight on points. Kriel rebounded from this loss by amassing a 11-1-1 record, before fighting Dexter Alimento for the vacant WBC International mini-flyweight title on July 23, 2017. He won the fight by unanimous decision.[2] He fought twice more before he challenged for a world title, with one of this fights being a WBC International title defense.[3]

IBF mini flyweight champion

Kriel was scheduled to challenge the reigning IBF mini-flyweight champion Carlos Licona on February 16, 2019 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was his first fight outside of South Africa.[4] He came into the fight as an underdog.[5] Despite this, Kriel won the fight by a late twelfth-round knockout. Coming into the last round, Kriel was down on two of the judges scorecards who had Licona up 108-101, while the third judge had Kriel at 105-104. Kriel managed to knock his opponent out with a left hook, with just 44 seconds left in the bout.[6] During the post-fight interview, Kriel stated his desire to fight the WBC strawweight champion Wanheng Menayothin in a title unification fight.[7]

Kriel was scheduled to face Jesus Fernando Aguirre in a non-title bout on November 30, 2019. He made quick work of his opponent, knocking Aguirre out in the first round. Kriel was afterwards ordered by the IBF to defend his title for a purse of $16 250. Unsatisfied with this, he opted to vacate the IBF title and move up to junior flyweight.[8]

Move to light flyweight

Kriel was scheduled to challenge the reigning IBF junior-flyweight champion Felix Alvarado, in the latter's second title defense, on January 2, 2021 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.[9] Alvardo knocked Kriel down in both the second and fourth rounds, before finishing him by technical knockout in the tenth round.[10]

Kriel faced Thembelani Nxoshe on 9 December 2022, following a 23-month long absence from the sport.[11] He won the fight by majority decision, with scores of 78–74, 77–75 and 76–76.[12]

Professional boxing record
20 fights 17 wins 2 losses
By knockout 8 1
By decision 9 1
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
20 Win 17–2–1 Thembelani Nxoshe MD 8 9 Dec 2022 The Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
19 Loss 16–2–1 Felix Alvarado TKO 10 (12), 1:39 2 Jan 2021 American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, U.S. For IBF junior-flyweight title
18 Win 16–1–1 Jesus Fernando Aguirre KO 1 (4), 1:54 30 Nov 2019 Big Punch Arena, Tijuana, Mexico
17 Win 15–1–1 Carlos Licona KO 12 (12), 2:16 16 Feb 2019 Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California, US Won IBF mini-flyweight title
16 Win 14–1–1 Xolisa Magusha UD 12 3 Mar 2018 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa Retained WBC International mini-flyweight title
15 Win 13–1–1 Thembelani Okolo MD 8 21 Oct 2017 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
14 Win 12–1–1 Dexter Alimento UD 12 23 Jul 2017 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa Won vacant WBC International mini-flyweight title
13 Win 11–1–1 Xolisa Magusha UD 8 23 Apr 2017 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
12 Win 10–1–1 Nyelisani Thagambega TKO 5 (10) 22 Oct 2016 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
11 Win 9–1–1 Nyelisani Thagambega TKO 7 (8), 2:31 24 Jul 2016 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
10 Draw 8–1–1 Ayanda Ndulani SD 6 24 Apr 2016 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
9 Win 8–1 Morabedi Khotle UD 6 7 Feb 2016 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
8 Win 7–1 Thabo Moabi TKO 3 (6) 1 Dec 2015 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
7 Win 6–1 Edward Disloane PTS 4 4 Oct 2015 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
6 Win 5–1 Thabo Moabi TKO 5 (6) 30 Jul 2015 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
5 Win 4–1 Clever Mdingi TKO 3 (4) 13 Apr 2015 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
4 Win 3–1 Donald Khetsane TKO 3 (4) 3 Dec 2014 Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
3 Win 2–1 Clever Mdingi PTS 4 28 Aug 2014 Presleys Restaurant, Boksburg, South Africa
2 Win 1–1 Colin Tloubatla PTS 4 26 Jun 2014 Presleys Restaurant, Boksburg, South Africa
1 Loss 0–1 Colin Tloubatla PTS 4 10 Apr 2014 Gold Reef Entertainment Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

See also

References
  1. "Deejay Kriel left family, homeland behind in search of boxing glory in America". The Ring. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  2. "DEEJAY KRIEL WINS WBC INTERNATIONAL TITLE". boxingafrica.com. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  3. Wainwright, Anson (28 February 2018). "Deejay Kriel: 'I will beat whoever they put in front of me to become champion'". ringtv.com. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  4. Magasela, Bongani. "Will Deejay Kriel emulate Zolani Petelo?". sowetanlive.co.za. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. Parisi, Vittorio. "Licona favorito contro DeeJay per i paglia IBF". boxeringweb.net. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  6. Salazar, Francisco (5 December 2019). "DeeJay Kriel Stays Busy in Mexico With First Round KO Win". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  7. Songalia, Ryan (23 February 2019). "Deejay Kriel made his world title dream come true, now wants Menayothin showdown". ringtv.com. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  8. Isaacson, David. "SA boxer Dee-Jay Kriel relinquishes world title over money". businesslive.co.za. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  9. Garcia, German (24 January 2020). "Félix Alvarado defenderá su cetro de la FIB contra el sudafricano Deejay Kriel". laprensa.com.ni. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  10. Rosenthal, Michael (2 January 2021). "Felix Alvarado stops Dee-jay Kriel in Round 10 to retain title". boxingjunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  11. "Dee-jay Kriel a 'new beast' at ESPN Africa Boxing in return from Alvarado defeat". espn.com. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  12. Malan, Droeks (9 December 2022). "Emmany Kalombo Stops Shiva Thakran In South Africa, Deejay Kriel Returns With A Win". ringtv.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
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