Gqeberha has suddenly become a boxing hotbed in the province, with all major fights headed to the city.
After hosting the successful eight-bout tournament held at Nangoza Jebe Hall, where Luzuko Siyo knocked out Sanele Magwaza to win the WBF intercontinental bantamweight title a fortnight ago, the region is set to host the highly anticipated IBO junior bantamweight title cash between Gideon Buthelezi and Sabeo Ngebiyane in September.
This was revealed by the promoters of the fight, which has been on the cards for a while.
The bout was originally scheduled to be held on July 31 but had to be postponed when the boxers earmarked to fight on the undercard featured in the Siyo-Magwaza show.
“We decided to move the tournament to the first week of September and so far so good,” Linda Saliwa of Xaba Promotions said.
The fight, which will see Buthelezi of Boipatong in Gauteng bidding for the sixth defence of his IBO crown, has already captured the attention of the boxing fraternity.
He has promised to hand Ngebiyane of Komani, but based in Cape Town, a serious beating for disrespecting him.
“I want to dish out a shellacking on this boy so that he knows we are not at the same level,” Buthelezi said.
The left-handed boxer has been dogged by inactivity which put him at risk of being stripped of the title by the IBO at one stage.
However, he benefited from Covid-19 exemption with the IBO giving him a reprieve to hold on to the title.
Ngebiyane, who has defied the odds by beating boxers he was tipped to lose against like previous unbeaten stars Sikho Nqothole and Ricardo Malajika, first challenged Buthelezi after his first win over Nqothole.
After again handing Nqothole his second loss in a rematch, he appealed to XP to match him against Buthelezi.
He will finally get his wish for a bid to add a world title to his trophy cabinet, which already boasts the SA crown and WBA Pan African title.
In the meantime, he took a fight against Malajika in a Golden Gloves show and handed the house fighter his first loss.
*Ghanaian boxer Samuel Takyi was eliminated by American Duke Garan in the semifinals of the featherweight clash in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Takyi will settle for a bronze medal, making him the only African boxer to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
DispatchLIVE
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