A contractual dispute has seen SA and world-rated junior-flyweight champion Siseko Teyisi being kicked out of the Xaba Promotions’ fold, leaving the 22-year-old without a promoter and training home.
XP boss Ayanda Matiti said he would not work with Teyisi until his management issue was sorted out after a fallout with his manager, Bongani Bozo.
The standoff started just before Teyisi’s SA title defence against Athenkosi Thongwana at the Orient Theatre on December 19 when the boxer secretly went to sign the management contract with Bozo without the knowledge of Matiti and his trainers at the Xaba Boxing Academy, where he trained.
This happened after Matiti had taken a decision to guide all XP-promoted boxers under one manager to align with one vision and future prospects.
Matiti was so upset with the developments that he ordered academy trainers Mnyamazeli Shosha and Miniyakhe Sityatha to withdraw from Teyisi’s corner during the Thongwana fight.
“Yes, I pulled them out of the fight to leave Bozo to handle his boxer,” he said.
However, Shosha and Sityatha pleaded with him to allow them to man Teyisi’s corner, avoiding what would have been an embarrassing moment in a televised SA title fight.
The impasse continued after the fight, which Teyisi won by a 12-round knockout to preserve his unbeaten record in nine bouts.
Bozo confirmed that Teyisi was no longer training at the Xaba Academy and was in the process of looking for a new trainer and promoter.
He said he was willing to reconcile with XP for the welfare of the boxer, who is tipped as one of the brightest prospects in SA boxing.
Besides the SA title he holds, Teyisi is rated 10th by the IBF due to the intercontinental belt he also possesses.
“We will take our time to handle this situation while looking at ways to fix it,” Bozo said.
However, Matiti described his relationship with Bozo as irrevocable and irreparable.
He accused Bozo of doing nothing for the boxer to justify his duties as the manager, adding that he was responsible for Teyisi’s career trajectory so far.
“There is no boxer managed by someone outside of the Xaba Academy who will be promoted by Xaba Promotion, and I stand by that decision.”
Matiti said Teyisi, who was scheduled to return in April, would no longer be part of the tournament.
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