Following his scintillating victory over Cassius Baloyi last year in a catch-weight bout, Phillip Ndou was declared, rather prematurely, as the pound-for-pound champion of South Africa. He was tipped to be on the verge of breaking into the big time of international boxing. His fights would be screened by United States television giant HBO and he would soon challenge for the coveted World Boxing Council world title.
A supposed warm-up fight took place in May in Romania against a ring-worn 38-year-old journeyman by the name of Claudio Martinet, whom he stopped in six rounds. Ndou will now continue setting the international arena alight by fighting a novice with a record of seven wins, three losses and a draw on Friday in London. HBO is nowhere to be seen.
Ndou’s opponent is a Russian by the name of Andrey Devyataykin, a natural lightweight who turned professional in April last year.
Given the ferocity with which Ndou is able to land his blows, this mismatch is not only an injustice to the ”Time bomb” himself, but could also result in some serious damage to his opponent.