BOXING
Deon Potgieter
The irrepressible Baby Jake Matlala will have his last professional fight at Carnival City on March 2.
In October 1988 the question was first put to Matlala: “Are you going to retire now?” That was after his fourth defeat in two years, at the hands of Vuyani Nene. “No” said Matlala. “I’ve still got two years in me.” That was to be his answer for the next 14 years.
If ever there was a sportsman with an iron-clad will to succeed, it’s the 1,5m (4’11”) fighter. The words “give up” were never in his vocabulary.
At the South African Boxing Awards of 1990 when photographers called for all the world champions to pose for pictures, Matlala, then the national junior flyweight champion, joined world champs Dingaan Thobela, Brian Mitchell and Welcome Ncita for the session.
When asked what he was doing there, Matlala said: “I am a world champion people just don’t know it yet.”
Most saw him as a veteran at the tail-end of his career. However, he was just starting. In 1991 Matlala unsuccessfully challenged Dave McCauley for the International Boxing Federation flyweight world title. Two years later he won his first world title by stopping Pat Clinton in eight rounds for the World Boxing Organisation flyweight crown.
After 13 years in the professional ring and 47 fights Matlala realised his dream and proved that he was indeed a world champion. He made three successful defences of the title before losing it in February 1993. Nine months later he became the first South African boxer to win a world title in a different weight division by beating Paul Weir for the WBO junior flyweight crown.
After two successful defences, Matlala relinquished the prestigious WBO crown to fight his idol Michael Carbajal for the little-known International Boxing Association title.
“It wasn’t about the title,” says Matlala, “it was who I was fighting.” Carbajal at the time was regarded as the best junior flyweight of all time. Matlala beat him on a ninth round stoppage. This was the proudest moment of the popular boxer’s 68-fight career.
Matlala’s celebrity has transcended boxing itself. Come March 2 emotions will be running high for the little big man, who would never quit. We know now, Jake, you are a world champion.