Poor form has Makazole on the ropes

Makazole, older brother of the more accomplished Zolani, meekly surrendered in the worst possible way as he refused to make a fight of it, giving Buthelezi an easy night’s work to regain the title.

Coming in as a favourite due to the fact he had never lost a fight in 15 bouts with just two draws, Makazole could not even draw inspiration from Zolani’s performance in the same tournament his Last Born Promotions company had jointly-promoted with Xaba Promotions and Events (XPE).

Zolani took on Filipino Jether Oliva, whom he dominated and could have stopped earlier, if he was not hindered by a shoulder injury he had suffered in training prior to the fight.

In a post-fight interview after his lopsided win, Zolani implored the crowd to take note of his brother, who he claimed would add another world title to the Tete family cabinet.

However, it did not turn out that way as Makazole displayed a lack of interest in his fight with Buthelezi, that left his management disappointed. XPE boss Ayanda Matiti, who is known for urging on his boxers during fights was so let-down by proceedings in the ring that he even remained in his seat.

Matiti admitted that Makazole’s performance was the opposite to the otherwise good performances by Lwandile Sityatha and Aphiwe Mboyiya, who beat Ernesto Saulong and Abraham Osei Bonsu for the bantamweight and junior lightweight titles respectively.

“Makazole disappointed me big time because I went to great lengths to get him this world title opportunity,” Matiti said.

Indeed, Matiti had a hard time of it convincing the IBO to grant Makazole a world-title shot at a new division, when he was not a title holder in the lower division. But so ignorant was Makazole of the sacrifices made for him, that he even wanted to quit at one stage during the fight.

An insider from his technical team revealed that when he was asked between rounds if he wanted to continue, Makazole said he did not.

“We were so mad at him for wanting to quit but that just underlined his lack of interest in the fight,” the insider said. There were also reports that Makazole bunked training in the lead-up to the fight, instead concentrating on a choral choir competition – referring to it as an activity he favoured above boxing.

This even though he has been earning good purses, with the fight against Buthelezi reportedly raking in around R200 000 for him.

Now with that disappointing performance, it will take some doing for his next fight to garner interest.

Matiti admitted he did not even know what he wanted to do with Makazole in terms of fights.

“I do not even want to think about him at moment. All I want is to relax with my family and enjoy the festive season with my mind far away from boxing.”

So gutted was Zolani with his sibling’s performance, that he even requested a fight against Buthelezi to avenge Makazole’s defeat.

However Mla Tengimfene who manages the Tetes, ruled it out, sayZolani would achieve nothing with such a match-up.

Zolani has just signed a multi-fight contract with top English promoter Frank Warren.