The uncertainty about the SA featherweight title is yet to be cleared less than a month before it is supposed to be contested in Escourt on March 28 after Boxing SA (BSA) scheduled an arbitration hearing a week before the date.
BSA announced that the hearing was scheduled for March 18 after it was postponed from March 6 when some of the aggrieved parties could not attend.
The saga stems from the identity of Lindelani Sibisi’s challenger for the title, with two East London boxers, Bongani Fule of Makhanda but based in Mdantsane and Duncan Village’s Siyabulela Hem, jostling to get the first shot.
Fule was originally tagged to challenge Sibisi on March 28, only for BSA’s sanctioning committee to approve Hem by virtue of being a champion in the junior featherweight division, which, according to the championship policy, should get first preference.
But Sibisi’s manager, Colin Nathan, whose strained relationship with Hem’s camp is well documented, objected to the committee’s decision, describing it as nonsensical while insisting that his charge would go ahead with the planned fight against Fule.
His sentiments stemmed from BSA COO Mandla Ntlanganiso’s pronouncement in January that Fule’s challenge should be accommodated first, claiming the committee was aware of the decision, only for committee chair Irvin Buhlalu to distance himself.
The saga has left the Sibisi camp not knowing if the fight, which will be promoted by his promoter, Hlula Dlala, will still go ahead, while Fule is also in the dark.
In correspondence seen by the Daily Dispatch, Dladla said he would again find out from BSA whether the fight would go ahead.
“I will write an email to BSA on Monday [March 9] and inquire about this impasse in respect of the Fule and Sibisi fight,” he said.
However, BSA chief executive Tsholofelo Lejaka said no decision had been taken until all the parties attended the arbitration hearing.
“It was unfortunate that the arbitration hearing had to be postponed on March 6,” he said.
The impasse has affected Hem’s ring return, which was scheduled for March 20, as he awaits the decision to plan his next move.
Fule is also caught up in the saga, with his camp not knowing if it should schedule another fight for him while waiting for the dispute to be resolved.
However, after the decision of his promoter, KayB Promotions, to take a fight while waiting for the Sibisi saga to be resolved nearly backfired when Fule escaped with a split point decision win over Jeff Magagane in November, the camp will wait for the BSA ruling on the matter.
KayB boss Mzi Booi, who has a planned tournament at the Guild Theatre on April 4, confirmed that he would wait for the BSA pronouncement on the dispute even though it was subjecting his boxer’s plans to uncertainty.
Lejaka sympathised with the boxers but reiterated that they were all aware that the saga would affect their fight schedules.
“The camps of all the boxers are fully aware about the process, including the uncertainties that are now posed by the ongoing dispute,” he said.
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