It seems the waiting is finally over for Mzonke ”The Rose of Khayelitsha” Fana to fight for the WBC junior lightweight title.
But Fana, the WBC international champion, will first have to brush Rand Suico aside in April.
The WBC has officially declared that match as the elimination bout for the WBC title.
Fana occupies the number-one spot while the undefeated Filipino is rated second.
Promoter Branco Milenkovic, who operates under the banner of Branco Universal Sports, announced on Tuesday that he was over the moon after being granted the rights to stage the bout.
He said the venue would be finalised in due course.
”It looked like a mission impossible at first but it has now become a reality,” he said.
The WBC also confirmed giving Milenkovic the green light on its website over the weekend.
”It will be costing me an arm and a leg to stage this fight in South Africa, especially when one considers the unpredictability of the markets and the fluctuating rand-dollar exchange rate,” said Milenkovic.
The WBC had originally given Milenkovic and Suico’s promoter, Aikido Honda, until January 17 to finalise their negotiations.
”I believe firmly however that Fana needs the added advantage of fighting at home,” said Milenkovic.
”With so many of the minor organisations having staged ‘world title’ fights in the past, we believe this fight will put South Africa back on the map.”
Fana’s last fight was in October when he outpointed Elvis Makama to record his third defence of the WBC B-grade belt.
In order to make sure that Fana is in great shape before taking on Suico, Milenkovic has organised a warm-up bout against Argentinean Christian Paz in Cape Town on February 13.
That 10-rounder will be televised live by SABC2 on Blow by Blow at 10pm. — Sapa