IN A surprising twist Mdantsane southpaw Nkosinathi “Mabere” Joyi has decided to bypass the opportunity to challenge for the more credible IBF junior flyweight crown in favour of the IBO title.
Joyi received two offers to challenge the IBF junior flyweight champion Johnriel Casimero of Philippines as a mandatory challenger without first engaging in a title eliminator as is the norm in major world title challenges.
The Filipino was ordered to face Joyi before December 16.
When the offer came, Joyi had already penned a pact to battle for the vacant IBO junior flyweight crown against another Filipino Rey Loreto in a fight initially scheduled for February 18 at Emperors Palace.
However Joyi’s Johannesburg promoter Rodney Berman said he has decided to bypass the IBF offer after Casimero demanded an exorbitant purse.
“We will continue with the path we had mapped out for Joyi and that is him fighting for the IBO title before he conquers the world,” Berman said.
However, it is understood that the decision to bypass the IBF title offer has not gone down well with Joyi’s management.
The Mdantsane fighter’s business manager Siphatho Handi said he was still in talks with Berman regarding the issue.
“Look, we have not yet made our mind about this,” Handi said.
Handi is believed to be pushing for Casimero to fight Joyi failing which the IBF should call purse bids if the Filipino is pricing himself out of the market.
Although no one is prepared to confirm it on record Casimero is believed to be demanding R1-million which is an astronomical purse for a junior flyweight division.
Berman said he had since brought Joyi’s IBO title clash against Loreto forward to February 1 as part of the boxing extravaganza scheduled to take place in Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco, France.
Berman’s Golden Gloves Promotion (GGP) signed a multi tournament contract with SBM Group that owns Monte Carlo and has since staged two shows with resounding success.
The February event is set to be topped by unbeaten rising star Gennady Golovkin defending his WBA/IBO middleweight belts against an opponent yet to be announced.
In the same show GGP star Ilunga Makabu will battle for the vacant WBA interim cruiserweight crown against unbeaten Polish fighter Pawel Kolodziej.
Berman said he plans to give Joyi the exposure by featuring him in the tournament.
The decision for Joyi to forego the IBF in favour of the IBO contrasts with what he did in 2008 when he dumped the IBO in favour of the IBF which he later won by beating Mexican Raul Garcia in East London.
Because of treating the IBO unfairly, the world body initially refused for Joyi to contest for its vacant title, leading to the Mdantsane hero to go via the WBC International title which he won when he knocked out another Filipino Benezer Alolod at Emperors Palace in August.
Joyi opts for IBO title bout
Joyi received two offers to challenge the IBF junior flyweight champion Johnriel Casimero of Philippines as a mandatory challenger without first engaging in a title eliminator as is the norm in major world title challenges.
The Filipino was ordered to face Joyi before December 16.
When the offer came, Joyi had already penned a pact to battle for the vacant IBO junior flyweight crown against another Filipino Rey Loreto in a fight initially scheduled for February 18 at Emperors Palace.
However Joyi’s Johannesburg promoter Rodney Berman said he has decided to bypass the IBF offer after Casimero demanded an exorbitant purse.
“We will continue with the path we had mapped out for Joyi and that is him fighting for the IBO title before he conquers the world,” Berman said.
However, it is understood that the decision to bypass the IBF title offer has not gone down well with Joyi’s management.
The Mdantsane fighter’s business manager Siphatho Handi said he was still in talks with Berman regarding the issue.
“Look, we have not yet made our mind about this,” Handi said.
Handi is believed to be pushing for Casimero to fight Joyi failing which the IBF should call purse bids if the Filipino is pricing himself out of the market.
Although no one is prepared to confirm it on record Casimero is believed to be demanding R1-million which is an astronomical purse for a junior flyweight division.
Berman said he had since brought Joyi’s IBO title clash against Loreto forward to February 1 as part of the boxing extravaganza scheduled to take place in Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco, France.
Berman’s Golden Gloves Promotion (GGP) signed a multi tournament contract with SBM Group that owns Monte Carlo and has since staged two shows with resounding success.
The February event is set to be topped by unbeaten rising star Gennady Golovkin defending his WBA/IBO middleweight belts against an opponent yet to be announced.
In the same show GGP star Ilunga Makabu will battle for the vacant WBA interim cruiserweight crown against unbeaten Polish fighter Pawel Kolodziej.
Berman said he plans to give Joyi the exposure by featuring him in the tournament.
The decision for Joyi to forego the IBF in favour of the IBO contrasts with what he did in 2008 when he dumped the IBO in favour of the IBF which he later won by beating Mexican Raul Garcia in East London.
Because of treating the IBO unfairly, the world body initially refused for Joyi to contest for its vacant title, leading to the Mdantsane hero to go via the WBC International title which he won when he knocked out another Filipino Benezer Alolod at Emperors Palace in August.
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