It’s rumble time for Sityatha

SOUTH African flyweight champ Lwandile Sityatha is racing against the clock as he trains to brush aside challenger Jackson Chauke against whom he makes the maiden defence of his crown at East London’s Orient Theatre on Saturday.

Sityatha’s clash with Chauke will form part of Xaba Promotions boxing extravaganza featuring four titles, including younger brother Miniyakhe, who moves up a division to bantamweight against Ghana’s Michael Barnor for the WBA Pan-African title.

Mzolisi Yoyo will defend his SA junior-welterweight crown against unknown challenger Tapelo Potwana while Doctor Ntsele and Xola Sifama collide for the vacant WBF Intercontinental flyweight diadem.

However, it is Lwandile’s clash against Chauke that has captivated fans due to the backstory.

Sityatha, 25, was one of the fastest rising mini-flyweights as his whirlwind style overwhelmed opponents en route to the finals of the Baby Champs against Nelson Mtshali in Welkom, Free State in 2008. He appeared to have easily beaten Mtshali but the decision went against him .

However, with an active promoter in Xaba Promotions boss Ayanda Matiti , he was put back into the ring and continued with his impressive form, reeling in a three-fight winning streak.

While he continued with his devastating form brother Miniyakhe was doing the same in the junior-bantamweight division and the two appeared to be ruling the lighter division roosts .

But Lwandile would hit a brick wall in the experienced late Siviwe Ntsiko in 2009. Besides the fight being a bad styles match-up, Lwandile allegedly took the bout so lightly that he even bunked training sessions.

The result was a crushing 10th- round stoppage for the youngster, an outcome that left Miniyakhe so angry that he had to be restrained by their handlers when he wanted to hit his older brother in the dressing-room for fooling around instead of training for the fight.

“W e jumped in just in time to restrain him,” one of the handlers said.

Lwandile returned to winning ways by scoring a third-round stoppage victory over Siviwe Maqakamba.

But then disaster struck when he was arrested for robbery and handed a four-year sentence, of which he served two, putting his boxing career in limbo.

Miniyakhe continued to blaze the trail on his own as he captured the SA crown by sensationally stopping Unathi Gqokoma in 10 rounds. He subsequently defended the title with stoppages with the exception of his last opponent Evans Mbamba, who managed to see out the distance.

Although he is yet to officially relinquish the junior-bantamweight title, his struggle to make the division has prompted him to move up to bantamweight for Saturday’s clash.

Meanwhile, Lwandile has hit the ground running with two bouts including a clash against Sifama since his release. “We thought we should not waste time but bring him back into the ring immediately,” said Matiti.

However fighting in the new division combined with ring-rust was evident as he struggled mightily against the wily Sifama, even though the judges awarded him the decision in a move that sparked riots as fans protested the outcome by hurling missiles into the ring.

The undeserved win earned him a challenge against Ntsele, who had lifted the title from Sifama, and Lwandile stunned the boxing fraternity by dominating the fight en route to a unanimous decision win last December.

Lwandile’s record shows 12 wins and six stoppages in 14 bouts .

Unbeaten Olympian Chauke (10-0-1, 6 KOs) was the only boxer to represent the country at Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Chauke is trained in Johannesburg by Nick Durandt .