Odds are heavily stacked in favour of East London-trained lightweight contender Sinethemba Blom when he challenges Khaya Busakwe for the SA lightweight title at the Vodacom Dome in Midrand on Saturday.
Blom has fought just four times compared to the seasoned champion, who has amassed 15 bouts and will enjoy home-ground advantage in addition to having legendry boxing trainer Norman Hlabane in his corner.
Though his professional fight record is thin, Blom, who hails from Cumakala (Stutterheim), comes with amateur pedigree, having won a slew of international championships before venturing into the paid ranks.
His refinement in the ring was evident when he engaged in a war with Kaine Fourie, who is the bogey boxer of the division, having destroyed everyone put in front of him, including Busakwe.
However, with only one professional bout under his belt, Blom matched the fearsome Fourie punch for punch before dropping a points decision in a bout whose flow and ebb deservedly won fight-of-the-year honours.
Since then no-one has dared to do the same to Fourie, who crushed his next four foes inside the distance.
The clash against Fourie elevated Blom’s status and earned him a rating, which he improved with two knockout victories to vault into title contention.
However, the title shot might have bypassed him had it not been the vigilance of his trainer, Lonki Witbooi, who quickly raised alarm when Busakwe took another opponent instead of honouring his mandatory defence.
Boxing SA intervened and ordered the Gauteng champion to face Blom, setting the stage for an eagerly awaited clash.
Blom is brimming with confidence ahead of the fight.
“This is Blom’s time and we intend to grab it with both hands,” Witbooi said.
“Not to underestimate Busakwe but I think the tricky assignment will be to counter anything Bra Norman comes up with.”
The fight will present Witbooi with a second national title shot, having failed with his boxer Sikho Moshani when he challenged SA junior-flyweight champion Mpumelelo Tshabalala.
Ironically, Tshabalala will top the bill on Saturday when he battles for the IBO world title against Argentinian Junior Leandro Zarate.
Cementing his status as one of the top trainers in the game, the multitalented Witbooi has been designing a winning strategy to negate the experience of Hlabane, who was in the game against Witbooi’s father, Spokes.
But having taken Fourie into deep waters while Busakwe easily succumbed in three rounds has given Blom the psychological edge to help Witbooi produce his first national champion.
Blom and Witbooi leave for Gauteng on Wednesday.
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