About that should have served as a crowd attraction in the Eastern Cape will now find itself sandwiched between two international fights in front of an audience with no particular interest in it.
This will be the case when two boxers from the province, Xolisani Ndongeni and Mzonke Fana, clash for the WBA Pan-African lightweight belt at Emperors Palace in Gauteng tomorrow night.
The pair will face off in a Golden Gloves Promotion (GGP) show as one of the undercard bouts when it could have drawn a full house had it been held in East London.
Understandably because spectators at Emperors Palace have no connection with the two boxers.
Ndongeni, who hails from Mount Frere, made Duncan Village his home before relocating to Gauteng to join trainer Colin Nathan and GGP boss Rodney Berman.
Fana was born in Mount Frere’s neighbouring town of Qumbu although he started his boxing career in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
With the roots of the two boxers in the province, their clash would have generated a lot of interest in local boxing circles.
Local promoter Ayanda Matiti tried to organise the fight between the pair but Fana turned it down, arguing that Ndongeni was still an unknown boxer.
Fana based his argument on his status as former two-time IBF world champion while Ndongeni is still climbing the ladder.
But since Fana’s career plummeted with indifferent performances against inferior opposition, he has been accepting any bout that comes his way.
Matiti, who is promoting Ndongeni, is still bitter that the clash cannot take place in the city.
“This would have been one of the most talked-about fights in the city given the popularity of the two boxers here,” he said.
Ndongeni says he will have mixed feelings about beating Fana, who was his idol when he was growing up in Mount Frere.
“Bra Mzonke used to inspire me, the way he defied the odds and became a world champion despite being born in a rural area.
“But now it is time for him to pass on the baton and who better than me to keep our respective towns on the boxing map.
“I would have preferred him to retire but I will help him push nudge him towards the exit door. No hard feelings bro Mzonke, I am your perfect successor.”
In the other duels IBO light-heavyweight title champion Thomas Oosthuizen risks his crown against Robert Berridge and his stablemate Johnny Muller takes on Mateusz Masternak in an international cruiserweight clash.
Fight duo to light up the Palace show
This will be the case when two boxers from the province, Xolisani Ndongeni and Mzonke Fana, clash for the WBA Pan-African lightweight belt at Emperors Palace in Gauteng tomorrow night.
The pair will face off in a Golden Gloves Promotion (GGP) show as one of the undercard bouts when it could have drawn a full house had it been held in East London.
Understandably because spectators at Emperors Palace have no connection with the two boxers.
Ndongeni, who hails from Mount Frere, made Duncan Village his home before relocating to Gauteng to join trainer Colin Nathan and GGP boss Rodney Berman.
Fana was born in Mount Frere’s neighbouring town of Qumbu although he started his boxing career in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
With the roots of the two boxers in the province, their clash would have generated a lot of interest in local boxing circles.
Local promoter Ayanda Matiti tried to organise the fight between the pair but Fana turned it down, arguing that Ndongeni was still an unknown boxer.
Fana based his argument on his status as former two-time IBF world champion while Ndongeni is still climbing the ladder.
But since Fana’s career plummeted with indifferent performances against inferior opposition, he has been accepting any bout that comes his way.
Matiti, who is promoting Ndongeni, is still bitter that the clash cannot take place in the city.
“This would have been one of the most talked-about fights in the city given the popularity of the two boxers here,” he said.
Ndongeni says he will have mixed feelings about beating Fana, who was his idol when he was growing up in Mount Frere.
“Bra Mzonke used to inspire me, the way he defied the odds and became a world champion despite being born in a rural area.
“But now it is time for him to pass on the baton and who better than me to keep our respective towns on the boxing map.
“I would have preferred him to retire but I will help him push nudge him towards the exit door. No hard feelings bro Mzonke, I am your perfect successor.”
In the other duels IBO light-heavyweight title champion Thomas Oosthuizen risks his crown against Robert Berridge and his stablemate Johnny Muller takes on Mateusz Masternak in an international cruiserweight clash.
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