The tension ahead of the SA junior-flyweight title clash between rivals Siseko Teyisi and Athenkosi Thongwana moved up a notch when their handlers engaged in a war of words, with one of them prepared to bet money on the outcome.
Teyisi defends his belt against Thongwana in an intriguing bout featured in the Xaba Promotions show involving two more SA title bouts at the Orient Theatre on Friday next week.
Interest in the clash, which is the latest instalment of the storied rivalry between Duncan Village and Mdantsane, has been piqued by the trainers criticising each other’s training methods.
With already strained relations caused by Thongwana’s trainer, Lonki Witbooi, appealing to Boxing SA to force Teyisi to defend against his charge, Witbooi worsened the situation when he predicted a knockout win for Thongwana in a radio interview.
Witbooi said he expected Teyisi’s handlers to advise him to vacate the title, as he would get a bad beating from Thongwana.
“I think they are misleading the young boy for letting him take this fight,” he said.
“Honestly, I would have spared him by letting him vacate the belt and go another route.”
Teyisi refused to face Thongwana in September, opting to contest the IBF intercontinental title against Filipino Elmar Zamora, whom he easily beat on points.
Witbooi slammed the boxer’s performance in the fight, saying he had regressed in his development.
“To me he is getting worse with each bout, and one would have thought that by now he would be getting better, but not only has he stagnated, he is woefully regressing.”
Witbooi’s remarks drew the ire of Teyisi’s trainer, Mnyamezeli Shosha, who felt the attack was not only directed at his boxer but at himself as well.
“I noted his remarks, and frankly, I feel he is attacking my training methods because Teyisi is under my tutelage,” he said.
“I am not going to stand here and defend myself, but I can tell you he has reignited something in me now.
“All but one of my boxers have never lost a bout, and I do not know what that means about my training ability.”
As the tension intensified, Shosha delved into a near-tragic bout involving Witbooi’s boxer, Sinethemba Blom.
Blom spent a period in hospital after he was punished and knocked out by Khaya Busakwe in an SA lightweight title clash in September 2024.
Witbooi was roundly criticised for not pulling Blom out of the fight despite taking punishment.
Shosha said he hoped Witbooi would do the right thing and save Thongwana from Teyisi’s punishment.
“For all his big talk and conceit, he could not save Blom despite taking punishment against Busakwe.
“I hope he does not do that to Thongwana.”
The Teyisi camp has already thrown down the gauntlet by imploring Thongwana to bet R1,000 on the outcome.
“Let them put their money where their mouth is. I say R1,000 for a knockout and half of that for a points decision either way.”
Daily Dispatch
