Mzonke Fana should heed the lesson Lenox Lewis was given at the hands of Vitali Klitschko in their heavyweight world title fight recently. Lewis had nothing but disdain for the Ukrainian boxer prior to their bout and bar a little luck, could well have lost his title.
If nothing else, Ukrainian fighters have proven themselves to be hard workers and tough as teak.
Fana faces the Ukraine’s 2002 boxer of the year, Yuri Veronin, on Friday night at the Oliver Tambo Hall in Khayelitsha. Veronin has been active as a professional for only two years and has amassed a record of seven wins, one draw and one loss, with four knockouts. Five of those fights have taken place in the past five months.
He does, however, have a reported 400 amateur fights to his credit and holds a win over current Russian featherweight champion, Evgeny Strausov.
While the question of why Fana is defending his junior-lightweight World Boxing Council international title against a man who usually fights as a featherweight has not been satisfactorily answered, Veronin does have credibility, in that he is the World Boxing Organisation Asian-Pacific champion.
Fana is one of South Africa’s brightest prospective future world champions, with a record of 18 wins, two losses and seven knockouts — five of which he scored in his past six outings. Having said that, his opposition of late hasn’t been of the highest calibre and as funny as it may seem, the less-experienced Veronin, could be regarded as a step-up in class. This man is fit and hungry for success.
If Fana is not completely focused on the task at hand, he could see his dreams dashed before his eyes.
Edward Thangarajah, the secretary general of the Asian boxing council, says WBC junior-lightweight world champion Sirimongol Singmanasuk would be prepared to defend his title against Fana, if both fighters were to win their next bouts.