DEON POTGIETER, Johannesburg | Friday 2.15pm
THREE local fighters will be in action in Denmark on Friday night when Xolani Ndleleni, the national junior bantamweight champion, challenges Jesper Jensen for the IBC junior bantamweight world title.
Jensen has previously beaten two South African fighters on his home ground, but may find Ndeleni a different kettle of fish.
Jacob Mafokeng, makes his long awaited return to the ring after serving a one year ban for using a forbidden substance.
Mofokeng made history last year by becoming the first black boxer to win the supreme national heavyweight title, but was stripped of the championship when it was discovered he had used a forbidden substance prior to defending his WBU cruiser-weight world title earlier the same year.
He lost his world crown to Robert Norten on a controversial points decision.
Mofokeng faces the undefeated Dane Tue Bjorn Thomson, while in an ironic twist of fate, Gary Murray will take on former IBC welterweight world champion Frank Olsen.
Murray, a former WBU welterweight world champion was to have challenged Olsen last year for the IBC title, but was denied permission by the national boxing commission. It was felt he was not physically good enough to go up against someone of Olsen’s calibre, having at the time lost three of his last four fights.
Carlos Baldomere replaced Murray a week before the bout and beat Olsen for the title. Since then Murray won the Cape title, but was brutally knocked out in February this year by the highly rated Shannon Taylor in Australia.
Olsen has won three consecutive bouts since his one career loss and now holds the IBF intercontinental title.
This bout will be a non-title fight over 8 rounds. If Murray wins he will be justified in thinking he was robbed of a world title by the boxing commission last year.
Having seen both fighters in action and in training however, I would have to give Olsen the edge for victory in this one.