Duncan Village township came alive at the weekend as the son of the soil, Azinga Fuzile, engaged in a public workout ahead of his highly anticipated junior lightweight clash against Asanda Gingqi at the Orient Theatre next Saturday.
The workout, combined with an amateur tournament, attracted a large crowd, with young boxers eagerly observing their idol as he trained under the guidance of former two-time world champion Zolani Tete.
The session included shadow boxing, exercises and Tete doing pad work with Fuzile, during which the left-hander displayed incredible speed and power, leaving onlookers and pundits in awe of what he is likely to do to Gingqi in the latest instalment of the Duncan Village vs Mdantsane derby.
With the fight splitting social media platforms down the middle with differing predictions, Fuzile’s public workout massively swayed the odds in his favour, with the whole Duncan Village township backing its hero as he dealt yet another blow against a Mdantsane boxer.
I see some people are writing me off, which confuses me because my three losses in 21 bouts were against world champions or boxers chasing world titles.
— Azinga Fuzile
Fuzile said he was ready for the fight, which he described as more than a derby between the two townships.
He said the bout would give him an opportunity to prove he was very far from being finished in boxing, as some feel.
“I see some people are writing me off, which confuses me because my three losses in 21 bouts were against world champions or boxers chasing world titles,” he said.
“I lost to [Shavkat] Rakhimov, who later won a world title; Ogawa [Kenichi] in a world title fight; and Zaurbek [Sultan], who is on the verge of challenging for a world title, but strangely people feel I am finished.”
Fuzile will participate in a significant derby between the two townships for the second time, having made his debut as a five-bout novice by defeating Mdantsane veteran MacBute Sinyabi to win the South African featherweight title in 2016.
After his workout Fuzile signed autographs for young amateur boxers who took over the ring, inspired to follow in his footsteps.
The East London Amateur Boxing Organisation (Elabo) said it decided to organise 20 amateur bouts to give Fuzile a proper send-off before his big bout against Gingqi.
Elabo’s Thulani Mhlubulwana, whose passion for boxing development in the township is unrivalled, said the event was set to inspire young boxers while also wishing Fuzile luck in his upcoming bout.
“Through Sicelo Heukile Foundation funding we were able to combine these two events to inspire young boxers to follow in the footsteps of our own Golden Boy Fuzile,” he said.
“Through initiatives like these, we are building the future of boxing and nurturing the next generation of other Fuziles.”
Despite Fuzile being the overwhelming favourite, as he has never lost to a South African opponent, fight promoter Ayanda Matiti, who also picked against Fuzile before his fight against Sinyabi, is predicting a Gingqi victory.
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