Deon Potgieter Boxing
East meets West on Friday in Poland, when for the first time two South Africans are featured in world title fights in the former communist country.
Simon Ramoni, the current International Boxing Organisation (IBO) world junior featherweight champion, makes the second defence of his crown against undefeated Hungarian Fandor Koczar, and national title holder Zolile Mbityi faces Bulgarian Dimitar Alpiev for the vacant IBO world flyweight championship on the undercard.
”Mbityi has to win this one,” says Branco Milenkovic, the Yugoslavian-born South African promoter who is putting on the double world title bill. ”It’s the fourth time he’s trying to win a world title. If he doesn’t do it now, I don’t think he’ll get another chance.”
Mbityi, who has suffered four losses in 24 fights, must have the edge over his Bulgarian opponent, who’s had nine losses in 20 bouts. ”It’s very difficult to read these Eastern European fighters,” says Milenkovic. ”They’re not great stylists like our fighters, but they’re very strong and can hit hard. I feel confident, however, that Mbityi will win this one.”
Ramoni will be facing a tougher challenge in the Hungarian fighter, but since winning the title, he has improved by leaps and bounds.
Ramoni, unlike most local fighters, has realised boxing is show business and is intent on putting up a good performance. ”I like to entertain people, ” says Ramoni. ”If they like what they see, they’ll come watch again.”
Despite his flashy style and mimicking of Muhammed Ali, he’s no slouch in the ring, as he proved in the first defence of his title, when he demolished Michael Alldis in two rounds last year.
Milenkovic intends to vigorously promote more South African boxers abroad. With the lack of regular television coverage and the poor rand, it’s becoming less and less feasible to stage world title bouts locally. Milenkovic has registered as a promoter in Europe under the banner of Panix (SA), a smaller arm of the main British company, which handles World Boxing Council (WBC) world heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis.
”I will still promote fights in South Africa as well,” says Milenkovic. ”But taking our fighters overseas will open more lucrative doors for them.”
Mike Segal, who is also promoting two South African fighters in world title action in Coventry, agrees. Although there is no live coverage in South Africa of his two world title bouts, they will be screened live on Sky television in the United Kingdom.
Mpush Mkambi’s defence of his IBO middleweight world title against reigning British light middleweight champion Enslie Bingham will be featured in the UK as a curtain raiser to Naseem Hamed’s unification bout against Ceasar Soto in Detroit.
The Hamed/Soto fight will be screened live by M-Net, which has opted to ignore the four South African boxers in combat on the same night.
With the heightened exposure Makambi will be receiving via Sky, an impressive performance could skyrocket him into the big league. ”A unification bout with the WBC is being negotiated,” says manager Leonard Neil. ”They want to stage it on the undercard of Hamed’s next fight, but it all depends on Makambi’s showing against Bingham.”
Bingham, who largely relies on a powerful left hook to win his fights – with 16 knockouts in his 20 victories – finds himself in a dilemma: he’s been contracted to defend his British title on November 6. Unlike our national titles, the British title is very lucrative and Bingham may choose to stay out of harm’s way to save himself for his next bout – not an ideal situation for Makambi, who is after a brutal bout to impress the fans.
Makambi – with 12 stoppages in 20 victories – will look to end Bingham’s hopes of another bout within two weeks by sending him to the canvass. In Britain a fighter is not allowed to fight for six weeks after a knockout.
On the Makambi/Bingham under-card is a bout which promises fireworks. Peter Malinga, eager to erase from memory his dismal performance against Ahmed Kotiev for the World Boxing Organisation welterweight world title earlier this year, meets hard- punching Spencer McCracken for the IBO welterweight world title.
”If Malinga is geared up, he can take the title,” says fight analyst Terry Pettifer. McCracken has scored 12 knockouts in 18 victories, so this may be a tall order for Malinga, who has not always performed at his best against big punchers.
All four South Africans should prove victorious in their bouts but, thanks to SABC, M-Net and e.tv, no one in the country will see it happen.