Zolani Tete’s dream of conquering the bantamweight division in the world has suddenly become a reality after his management revealed that he would be part of the planned Bantamweight Super Eight Series.
The series, which is a new phenomenon involving top boxers being pitted against each to crown a single champion, will feature other world champions in the division including Irish Ryan Burnett whom Tete has been chasing for a unification.
Burnett holds the WBA super crown having also held the IBF title which he relinquished early this year.
The IBF title will now be contested by Mexican Emmanuel Rodriguez and Paul Butler next weekend.
The winner of the fight will also be entered into the series.
The other boxers considered to be part of the series are Cuban veteran Guillermo Rigodeaux although he campaigns in the junior-featherweight division and had his last bout – a stoppage loss to Vasyl Lomachenko – in the junior-lightweight division.
Other boxers in the series include Japanese phenomenon Naoya Inoue who will rubberstamp his participation with a win over Englishman Jamie McDonnell for the WBA regular title on May 25 in Japan.
Dominican Republic Juan Carlos Payano is also in the mix for the series which on paper promises to be the most evenly contested one in boxing.
Tete’s manager Mla Tengimfene revealed that an offer was made to the boxer’s English promoter Frank Warren.
“We accepted the invitation in principle while we will sort out other issues including purses,” he said.
Tete is fresh from a dominant performance over Argentinean veteran Omar Narvaez to retain his WBO crown in Belfast last Saturday.
He has been calling out other champions in the division for a unification but his participation in the series will more than answer his aspirations of proving his mettle in the division.
The overall winner of the series will be crowned the universal world champion with endless opportunities including being a top boxer in the pound for pound list.
Tengimfene said the camp was excited by the news as it will afford Tete his wish to pit his talent against other champions in the world.
“Everybody knows that we have been crying out for unification fights but this opportunity is even bigger than that. It will crown a single world champion who will be universally recognised as the king of the division.”
The series has indeed elicited excitement in other division it was contested in.
In the super-middleweight division it led to the emergence of Andre Ward when he remained the last standing earning world accolades as the pound for pound star.
His win more than tripled his earning potential and when he moved up to the light-heavyweight division to dethrone Sergey Kovalev he was already regarded as a star.
And the series has also rejuvenated the often neglected cruiserweight and already Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev are scheduled to contest the finals after eliminating other participants.
Tete and Inoue are expected to be one of the favourites to win the series and if the Mdantsane boxer achieved the feat he will surpass any boxing achievement by a South African boxer and earn the status of being the greatest of all time in the land.
Tete on the cusp of his greatest face-off
The series, which is a new phenomenon involving top boxers being pitted against each to crown a single champion, will feature other world champions in the division including Irish Ryan Burnett whom Tete has been chasing for a unification.
Burnett holds the WBA super crown having also held the IBF title which he relinquished early this year.
The IBF title will now be contested by Mexican Emmanuel Rodriguez and Paul Butler next weekend.
The winner of the fight will also be entered into the series.
The other boxers considered to be part of the series are Cuban veteran Guillermo Rigodeaux although he campaigns in the junior-featherweight division and had his last bout – a stoppage loss to Vasyl Lomachenko – in the junior-lightweight division.
Other boxers in the series include Japanese phenomenon Naoya Inoue who will rubberstamp his participation with a win over Englishman Jamie McDonnell for the WBA regular title on May 25 in Japan.
Dominican Republic Juan Carlos Payano is also in the mix for the series which on paper promises to be the most evenly contested one in boxing.
Tete’s manager Mla Tengimfene revealed that an offer was made to the boxer’s English promoter Frank Warren.
“We accepted the invitation in principle while we will sort out other issues including purses,” he said.
Tete is fresh from a dominant performance over Argentinean veteran Omar Narvaez to retain his WBO crown in Belfast last Saturday.
He has been calling out other champions in the division for a unification but his participation in the series will more than answer his aspirations of proving his mettle in the division.
The overall winner of the series will be crowned the universal world champion with endless opportunities including being a top boxer in the pound for pound list.
Tengimfene said the camp was excited by the news as it will afford Tete his wish to pit his talent against other champions in the world.
“Everybody knows that we have been crying out for unification fights but this opportunity is even bigger than that. It will crown a single world champion who will be universally recognised as the king of the division.”
The series has indeed elicited excitement in other division it was contested in.
In the super-middleweight division it led to the emergence of Andre Ward when he remained the last standing earning world accolades as the pound for pound star.
His win more than tripled his earning potential and when he moved up to the light-heavyweight division to dethrone Sergey Kovalev he was already regarded as a star.
And the series has also rejuvenated the often neglected cruiserweight and already Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev are scheduled to contest the finals after eliminating other participants.
Tete and Inoue are expected to be one of the favourites to win the series and if the Mdantsane boxer achieved the feat he will surpass any boxing achievement by a South African boxer and earn the status of being the greatest of all time in the land.
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