Watch: PERFECT SHOT floors Louis Rooney as ‘extraordinary’ Mathealira Seholoholo knockout stuns commentators at Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games
Published 24/07/2026 at 16:07 GMT+1
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Louis Rooney suffered an ”extraordinary” knockout as his Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games campaign came to an abrupt halt against Lesotho’s Mathealira Seholoholo in Glasgow. Live coverage of the Games is on TNT Sports and HBO Max.
‘Just extraordinary’ - Seholoholo knocks out Rooney with 'perfect' right hand
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Northern Irishman was the clear favourite to overcome his opponent in the bantamweight 55kg bout on day one of boxing competition, and was winning 3-2 after the first round.
But it seems that at the bell his concentration may have dropped and just 25 seconds into the second round, he was on the wrong end of a brilliant right-handed punch from Seholoholo.
The 20-year-old did get up and was clearly shocked as the referee declared the Lesotho fighter the winner. It was a major shock and one that neither of the TNT Sports commentators could quite believe.
Dave Farrar said: ”Oh huge right hand! Seholoholo, Rooney caught, Rooney staggers to his feet. Is Rooney going to survive here?
”Rooney is down and out, Seholoholo, on a wing and a prayer threw a massive right hand and he caught him flush on the jaw.”
Co-commentator Richie Woodhall added: ”Well incredible, the referee didn’t even bother to really count, it was the perfect shot you have got to say.
”Rooney just switched off a little bit, he went back to the neutral corner and just gets caught with a peach of a punch, right hand over the top, unbelievable – I didn’t see that one coming.
”Just bang on the button wasn’t it, just on the point of the chin, the point of the jaw and the referee like I said, he didn’t even bother to count, he goes down heavy doesn’t he at the end of the day.
”But what a shot that was for the man in red, over the top, maybe Rooney’s chin was a little bit too high in the air and got exposed and he gets caught - belting shot, belter.”
Rooney had been carefully executing his plan with good foot movement and was clearly looking to take the fight all the way.
That was very much not the style of Seholoholo, whose realistic chance of winning was always via a knockout blow.
That is exactly what happened, of course, and both commentators were quick to hand him praise.
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”Well, when we talk sometimes about the big wild right hand versus the foot movement, sometimes the big wild right hand wins,” Farrar added.
”Just extraordinary, and now he [Rooney] is coming to his senses, of course the doctors will look at him and he is realising what has happened and what has gone wrong and he is going to have so much time to reflect on this.
”Was he guilty of maybe underestimating his opponent, maybe? ”
Woodhall said: ”He just drifted a little bit didn’t he, towards the neutral corner and just drifted probably mentally as well.”
”He just took his eye off things and he has been caught with a really good punch.
”He probably won’t throw a better punch than that in his whole career Seholoholo, but fair play to him, it was a cracking shot.”
Seholoholo will now fight Australian Jye Dixon in the next round, after he had a bye in the round of 32.
Orie praises Seholoholo for ‘picture perfect’ punch
To the naked eye, Seholoholo’s knockout blow may have seemed like a lucky shot in the dark that landed perfectly.
But to someone who has been there, done that, it was clear what was going on.
TNT Sports pundit Delicious Orie, who won super heavyweight gold in Birmingham four years ago, is very much an expert in the intricacies of boxing.
He was able to spot what was going on and believes Seholoholo’s team spotted an error in Rooney’s stance which allowed him to ”solve the puzzle.”
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'It was almost picture perfect' - Orie praises Seholoholo for stunning KO
Video credit: TNT Sports
”When you said it was going to be a knockout, I didn’t think it was going to be of that extent, that was definitely a stoppage,” Orie said.
”Hindsight is 20-20, watch that first round and Rooney looked relaxed, he looked like he was really enjoying himself but that lead hand, that lead hand was way too low and there were times where he didn’t have enough distance between him and Seholoholo.
”I believe his team would have picked that up and it took one round and one corner rest for them to say look, just pretend to throw these jabs and then all you have to do is come over and that is exactly what happened.
”It was almost picture perfect. Seholoholo had a puzzle in front of him and that is what it is in amateur boxing, you try to figure out and solve a puzzle and once you have cracked it at elite level, that is it, all you have to do is get it.”
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