RECENTLY deposed SA junior-featherweight champion Macbute Sinyabi has made a startling revelation about the reasons for dumping longtime mentor Nick Durandt.
Sinyabi claimed that he left the boxing club in Johannesburg because of differences with some of the fighters there . Sinyabi bolted the Durandt gym at the weekend and only informed the maned trainer of his decision via an SMS.
His split ended a five-year relationship which itself started on a shaky footing when his previous handlers Mzi Mnguni challenged his departure insisting that they had a valid contract with him. Sinyabi gained his release by the way of a Bhisho High Court intervention .
While he insisted that Durandt was not the reason for his departure, Sinyabi, who goes by the “Macman” moniker, said the attitude of assistant trainers and some of his stablemates pushed him to the exit door.
He claimed that the sinister forces started to celebrate after his knockout defeat by the late Thai fighter Thangthong Kiattaweesuk last May.
“Everything changed after I lost to that Thailand guy and I could see some of my stablemates and assistant trainers celebrating that I lost,” Sinyabi revealed.
He said the jealousy stemmed from his close-knit relationship with Durandt and his family. Durandt confirmed that Sinyabi was very close to him and his son Darmien. The Mdantsane-born knockout specialist, who has floored 18 of his 20 victims with just three losses, denied that his career was on the downslide since his Kiattaweesuk loss.
Since that crushing defeat, Sinyabi has struggled in his ensuing fights, scraping through via a highly controversial victory over Oscar Chauke and laboured to a points decision against Pfariso Neluvhulani whom he had easily knocked out in their previous meeting.
He then surrendered his title to Thabo Sonjica who he knocked out twice before. Sinyabi admitted that his performances since Kiattaweesuk fight left much to be desired but attributed that to differences he had with the assistant trainers.
“I was not supposed to beat Chauke because I was going through a lot of emotional stuff at the time but I gathered myself and I managed to retain my title,” he said.
Durandt revealed that Sinyabi’s defeat to Sonjica dealt him a psychological blow and plummeted his confidence levels to an all-time low.
The fighter admitted that he could not deal with the loss to Sonjica and still feels that the Duncan Village fighter did not take his title. “To me when you are a challenger you must wrest the title from a champion and Sonjica did not do that,” he argues.
“Sonjica showboated and roughed me up; maybe that was their game plan but he didn’ t take my title.”
He revealed his desire to avenge his defeat to Sonjica even if the SA title was not at stake. “I defended that title numerous times so to me it does not interest me anymore, but I am dying to fight Sonjica again.”
Sinyabi also confirmed Dispatch reports that he would be working with former world champion Welcome Ncita who is yet to reopen a gym but insisted that Ncita would be joining him and not other way round.
He also admitted that he had applied to participate in the soon-to-be- launched Premier Boxing League but denied that he has been approached to be the league’s ambassador.