SA boxing stablemates Beaven Sibanda and Mdantsane’s Siyakholwa Kuse will become the first boxers to hold world titles in one division if they succeed in their IBF and WBC title challenges.
Zimbabwean-born SA boxer Sibanda will challenge for the IBF mini-flyweight title against Filipino Pedro Taduran in a venue yet to be confirmed on April 4.
The fight will come a week after his former foe-turned-stablemate at the Brian Mitchell Academy, Kuse, faces another Filipino, Joey Canoy, in a WBC mini-flyweight title eliminator at Emperors Palace.
A win will earn Kuse a rematch against another Filipino, Melvin Jerusalem, who beat him in a close points decision in Manila in October.
While Kuse is favoured to prevail against Canoy, who has never won a bout in three SA visits, Sibanda faces a mammoth but not impossible task against Taduran, who will be vying for the third defence of the crown he won in an upset manner from Japan’s Ginjiro Shigeoka in July 2024.
The Filipino travelled to Japan as the underdog to then-unbeaten Shigeoka to score a stunning ninth-round stoppage to regain the belt he had surrendered to compatriot Rene Mark Cato two years earlier.
So stunning was his victory over Shigeoka that the Japanese camp lured Taduran back to Japan with a lucrative offer for a rematch 10 months later.
Shigeoka not only lost but also suffered tragic consequences when he was rushed to hospital in a coma, which ended his career.
Though a Zimbabwean native, Sibanda carries SA boxing hopes to return the IBF belt to the country.
The country first claimed the IBF mini-flyweight belt in stunning circumstances when an unknown Gqeberha-born East London boxer, Zolani Petelo, travelled to Thailand to dethrone long-standing champion Ratanapol Sor Vorapin with a four-round stoppage to cause the World Upset of the Year.
After five title defences, Petelo vacated the belt to move up to junior flyweight to lose to Mexican great Ricardo Lopez in a WBC title challenge.
The belt returned to the country when Mdantsane’s Nkosinathi Joyi dethroned another Mexican, Raul Garcia, in 2010 before surrendering to Garcia’s compatriot, Mario Rodriguez, in 2012.
Seven years later, DeeJay Kriel briefly returned the belt to SA after stopping Carlos Licona but vacated it without a defence to move up a division.
With Sibanda standing on the verge of a historic achievement, his promoter Rodney Berman toasted the moment befalling his two boxers.
‘This is an extraordinary start to 2026 for SA boxing and Golden Gloves Promotions (GGP),” he said.
“GGP has long been the heartbeat of SA boxing, but this flurry of opportunities signals something bigger.”
Interestingly, Petelo was under the GGP fold when he made five title defences, with the late Mzi Mnguni handling training duties.
Should Sibanda and Kuse win, it would be the first time two SA boxers own two major titles in the same division.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.