The cat is out of the bag!
Azinga Fuzile will face former multiple world champion and Eastern Cape boxing basher Malcolm Klassen in the mother of all battles at the Orient Theatre on October 21.
The news was confirmed by Rumble Africa Promotions (RAP) which will organise the gigantic fight.
And already boxing fans are split down the middle about the fight, some fearing that the experienced Klassen will be too much for the Duncan Village star.
Fuzile will be ushered into the fight by new trainer Colin Nathan for the first time after dumping longtime trainer Mzamo Njekanye in a highly-publicised split last month.
Commenting on the fight, Nathan simply said: “We cannot wait.”
Klassen is a bogey man for local boxers having beaten all of them, starting by destroying the late Leli Mbilase in 2006.
Other boxers he has sensationally knocked out include current SA junior welterweight champion Xolani Mcotheli when Klassen came in overweight for the fight.
But this time he will be hit hard in the pocket if he commits a similar transgression as RAP has inserted a penalty clause if he comes in overweight.
“If Klassen comes overweight he will lose 40% of his purse and that is in the contract,” said RAP coordinator Mfesi Nyathela.
It will however be weird watching someone else lead Fuzile to the fight other than Njekanye who had been with him since the 22-year-old star was 10 years old.
But Nathan said the unbeaten left-hander who is now training in his HotBox club in Johannesburg had adjusted well to his training methods.
“He is super confident and is firing on all cylinders,” Nathan said.
“We cannot wait to unleash Fuzile to East London people. Right now we are deep in training but I cannot reveal what we are really working on.”
Nathan is renowned as the best fight strategist with an uncanny eye to read fights and come up with a perfect fight plan.
It will be interesting to see how he jells with the highly technical Fuzile whom some believe is ready for the big league despite being an 11-fight novice.
Nyathela said choosing Klassen was in line with the efforts to improve Fuzile’s level of opposition.
“He has been beating up everyone with ease and we hope an experienced boxer like Klassen, who is a former world champion, will be able to offer some resistance,” Nyathela added.
While Klassen has been beating up local boxers it is yet to be seen if at 36 years old he still carries the same destructive mentality.
But he is reportedly taking the fight so seriously that he has inserted a clause in the contract stipulating that he needs to be in East London several days before the fight.
“Yes he wants to be in East London several days before the fight to acclimatise,” confirmed Nyathela...