Former SA featherweight champion Zolisa Batyi left the Fourways Farmers Market ring in Johannesburg disappointed by the outcome of his bout against Ardy Katompa at the weekend but relieved when he returned home to find his mother’s condition had improved.
Batyi dropped a points decision to Katompa by scores of 77-75 twice and 78-74, condemning him to his third loss in his last four bouts, and denting his aspirations of regaining his featherweight belt.
The Nxarhuni boxer surrendered the title to KwaZulu-Natal’s Lindelani Sibisi with a 10th-round knockout at the Orient Theatre in KuGompo City in May 2025 and has been gunning for revenge since.
However, his run since that defeat, during which he only beat bosom friend Awonke Tini in December before losing to Mateus Heita in May, has scuppered his revenge mission.
The loss to Katompa at the weekend, when the Democratic Republic of Congo boxer claimed another big KuGompo City scalp, has all but put paid to his chance of getting a shot at his old belt.
Batyi sounded unperturbed by the loss, though he insisted the fight should have been declared a draw.
“To me, a draw would have been a good outcome because the fight was evenly balanced,” he said.
Despite the defeat, Batyi returned home to a far more satisfying scenario, with his ailing mother, Sindiswa Mbambeni, showing signs of recovering from a stroke she suffered in the days leading up to the fight.
The setback had affected her speech.
“My heart warmed when I saw how happy she was on my return home, with even her speech improving,” Batyi said.
“She asked me with her slurred speech how I fought, and I said I fought very well and she was delighted.
“But I did not tell her that I lost.”
Batyi said he would now focus all his energy on ensuring his mother recovered fully, adding he did not mind if boxing took a back seat.
“Worrying about outcomes will do nothing for me better than seeing my mother recover.”
He denied social media reports that he was planning to retire from the ring after the latest defeat.
“I was just messing with people by posting that; otherwise, there is no reason for me to retire,” he said.
Katompa, who is gradually assuming the KuGompo slayer moniker, beat Batyi after his stunning stoppage win over reigning SA junior featherweight champion Siyabulela Hem in April.
The DRC fighter forced Duncan Village’s Hem to quit at the end of the ninth round to mark his first stoppage loss.
Trained by KuGompo City’s Ncedo Cecane at the WBC gymnasium in Johannesburg, Katompa is enjoying a career revival after losing back-to-back bouts against Sabelo Ngebiyana and Khaya Mlatha.
