/ 12 January 2009

Galada’s funeral date set

The funeral of the late World Boxing Foundation (WBF) featherweight champion Ludumo Galada has been set for Saturday in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape.

Galada was killed in a car accident in Aliwal North on his way from Johannesburg on Sunday morning.

The unbeaten champion died just weeks before his scheduled WBF title defence against Takalani Ndlovu at the Orient Theatre in East London on January 23.

Ndlovu’s trainer Nick Durandt on Monday joined scores of people paying tribute to the late champion.

Durandt said his fighter was not concerned about the missed opportunity to fight Galada but was rather disturbed by the loss of life of a young man.

”We want to join boxing people in sending condolences to his family,” said Durandt.

WBF African president Howard Goldberg said his organisation was shocked by the news of Galada’s death.

Goldberg said Galada was a role model for the aspirant fighters due to his respect of the sport in and out of the ring.

”We have lost one of our great champions in Galada and we cannot begin to express our feelings over this,” he said.

Galada’s manager Siphatho Handi said the fighter did not get permission from his management team to travel to Johannesburg.

”He sneaked out hoping he would be back in time and ended up driving the whole day without rest,” he said.

”He did not inform any of us that he would be going to Johannesburg because he knew we would have objected.”

Galada, a 2004 Athens Olympian, was rated one of the rising stars in South African boxing with his clash against Ndlovu expected to catapult him to stardom if he won.

Handi said plans were already afoot for Galada to engage in a megabout if he had beaten Ndlovu.
”We had already targeted May 2 as the tentative date,” he said. — Sapa