Mdantsane female boxer Unathi Myekeni silently left the country for Korea, where she failed to unseat unbeaten Hyun Mi Choi in her WBF junior-lightweight title challenge.
After returning home empty-handed, Boxing Mecca sat down with her to find out how the fight came about.
BOXING MECCA: I thought my eyes were playing a fast one on me when I saw your name as a challenger for a fight in Korea.
UNATHI MYEKENI: (laughing) You know when this fight was offered to me I thought of calling you and informing you but I do not know what distracted me from that.
BM: Were you given enough time to prepare?
UM: I must say I had plenty of time to prepare and I was even given two weeks off from work to train for it.
BM: So you cannot complain about short notice?
UM: No not at all. The stumbling block was that we did not have video-footage so we did not really know what to expect.
BM: But why did you accept fight in the junior-lightweight when you had never fought in the division before?
UM: The opportunity came in the junior-lightweight and as you rightly put it I had never fought in the division before but it was a big opportunity for me to miss, so I took it.
BM: I see you were preparing with Charles Mabunda. Have you been working with him for a while?
UM: No we worked together for the first time in this fight, although he is someone I am familiar with.
BM: Take us through the fight Unathi. How was the Korean woman?
UM: One thing I can tell you is that she is so powerful.
When she hit me it felt like I had been hit with a sledgehammer. But I had trained very well so I used my legs to get out of harm’s way before she could finish me off.
BM: That sounds strange because I’ve never seen you run away from an opponent.
UM: I had no choice in that situation, otherwise she would have stopped me.
There were times when she caught me with a big punch and I would hold on for dear life before she could put together combinations to finish me off. Her power is out of this world.
BM: Yes Unathi. You know those female fighters from those countries are multi-dimensional because you will find that they started as martial artists and muythai kick boxers, so they perfect the fighting technique long before they transition to boxing.
UM: That is very true bhuti. They are unlike us who start boxing with no fighting background whatsoever.
BM: But I read Howard Goldberg’s comments saying that you put up a gutsy performance and you were not disgraced in defeat.
UM: Yes Howard was at the ringside and I think he was worried about me before the fight. But I had actually prepared well and my fitness was top-class.
BM: I guess after such defeat you are on your way out now.
UM: Not at all bhuti. In fact I think my fighting prowess is at another level now as I grow older. I plan to stick around for a while.
BM: But how old are you now Unathi?
UM: I am 34 but I feel like a 24-year-old.
BM: What is your goal now that you have lost two fights in a row after your defeat by Gabisile Tshabalala?
UM: I want to challenge for the SA title in the featherweight division and rebuild my career. I am gunning for that title and I believe it is mine for the taking.
BM: It sounds like you are not going to give up.
UM: I will win another title and people will be surprised.