Trainer Paul Tshehla believes that the national junior middleweight championship title will remain in Mpumalanga when his charge, Tshepo Mashego, defends his crown against Christopher Buthelezi in the province on April 16.
The champion, who will enjoy territorial advantage over the KwaZulu-Natal challenger, will bid for his second defence at the Witbank Civic Centre.
The sixth-ranked Buthelezi, who originates from KwaZulu-Natal, is now based in Johannesburg where his skills are honed by Nick Durandt.
”Tshepo is in high spirit and he just cannot wait to thrill his followers once again,” said Tshehla on Tuesday.
Mashego outsmarted the vastly experienced William Gare at Lynville Hall in Witbank last year in November.
The title fight will be the main contest in the Mpumalanga Boxing Promotions programme and will be solely sponsored by Vodacom, which has declared the entrance free of charge.
The tournament will start at 8pm and will be broadcast by SABC Sport but only the main bout will be televised live from 10pm.
Mashego’s stablemate, Lawrence Ngobeni, was supposed to fight Alvin Mahonisi in the junior welterweight bout over six rounds, but his trainer, Rob McLeod, withdrew him on Monday because Mahonisi was 10kg over the 63,5kg limit.
McLeod believes that his seventh-ranked and ill-disciplined boxer will not be able to shed 10kg in five days. Mahonisi is renowned for being out of shape prior to a fight and in fact has never been in top condition in all his previous five fights.
But Tshehla has not lost hope that Ngobeni will fight.
Anthony Tshehla and Oupa Lubisi, both former national champions, will also be on the bill.
Tshehla, who has not donned boxing gloves since his fifth-round loss to Sirimongol in Thailand in May last year, will have to dust off his cobwebs when he takes on Sihle Mthalane over six rounds in the junior lightweight clash.
Lubisi, a former national featherweight holder, will face Patrick Masango in the junior lightweight bout over six rounds.
Stanley Manana will defend his Mpumalanga lightweight title against Schoeman Sindane over 10 rounds.
Michael Dumezweni, who hails from Bloemfontein, and East Londoner Thulani Ndyamara will exchange leather over six rounds in the mini-flyweight fight.
The tournament was sanctioned by Boxing South Africa. — Sapa