Seldom does a promoter stage a tournament where his top boxers will be listed as underdogs as KayB Promotions will do in its April 27 show in East London.
The budding promotional outfit will present twin SA title bouts topped by Zolisa Batyi risking his featherweight belt against number one contender Lindelani Sibisi, with former two-time champion Aphiwe Mboyiya chasing a third title against junior-welterweight king Ntethelelo Nkosi.
Despite gunning for the outright ownership of the belt, Batyi will enter the bout as an underdog owing to Sibisi’s boxing pedigree enhanced by being a continental champion.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Sibisi has beaten all but one of his 10 opponents, having avenged one of the two losses to Mthatha’s Sange Ngoza.
Batyi has also won 10, lost twice and drawn once in 13 bouts but is yet to get the respect he deserves as the champion.
He is the busiest SA champion, having turned off four challengers since he teamed up with KayB.
The Batyi-Sibisi odds mirror the bout between Mboyiya and Nkosi in what will be the battle of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
Nkosi, from Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal, has lost twice in nine bouts, having wrested the title from Eastern Cape bogeyman Prince Dlomo.
Mboyiya is enjoying a career resurgence, scoring impressive wins in his last two bouts since suffering a knockout loss to current SA lightweight champion Khaya Busakhwe.
However, there is a school of thought that he has seen better days with his power unable to worry the junior-welterweight opponents.
KayB boss Mzi Booi, however, is unfazed by the threat facing his boxers.
“I know Batyi and Mboyiya will enter as underdogs as it is always the case with Batyi but he keeps proving everyone wrong,” he said.
“He is one boxer you must never count out while Mboyiya has plenty of experience to spring a surprise against any opponent.”
Booi said Batyi and Mboyiya, who were both in action in November when Batyi saw off Abdul-Aziz Kurnet and Mboyiya beat Lindokuhle Dlamini, knew that they had to defend the province against the KwaZulu-Natal threat.
“Boxing in KwaZulu-Natal is growing in leaps and bounds but, so far, we have not lost to them in national title fights in a while.
“Batyi and Mboyiya must keep the trend and defend Eastern Cape dignity.”
The event, which will be streamed by Viva Nation TV, owned by Arena Holdings, has captured the interest of the boxing fraternity with tasty bouts on the undercard.
Daily Dispatch
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