After suffering an injury scare in his last fight and having to be rushed to hospital, former SA champion Yanga Sigqibo will resume his career at the end of August.
While details of his ring return have been kept under wraps, it has been confirmed that the former world-rated Duncan Village boxer has been preparing for the fight under Mzamo “Chief” Njekanye.
Njekanye confirmed that the 31-year-old had been training under his guidance for a while in his quest to relaunch his career which promised much but has been underwhelming.
“Yes, Yanga is with me now, and he has been training with me for a while,” he said.
“But I do not want to speak about his next fight because that is up to the promoter to announce.”
The promoter declined to be named because he had not yet fulfilled certain obligations and Boxing SA processes, including revealing the name of Sigqibo’s opponent.
However, it has been confirmed that the fight will take place on August 31 at East London’s Orient Theatre in the promoter’s debut tournament.
The interest centres on Sigqibo’s return rather than the identity of his opponent due to perceptions that his career was over after he suffered an 11th-round stoppage loss to Ricardo Malajika for the IBO junior bantamweight title at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, in August 2024.
Sigqibo reportedly collapsed in the anteroom after the defeat and was rushed to the Arwyp Medical Centre, where he spent the weekend under observation, amid unverified reports that he had been diagnosed with bleeding on the brain.
However, his team, led by his then-trainer Thembani Gopheni, denied the reports, saying he had gone to the hospital on the advice of the ringside doctor after complaining of a headache.
Gopheni said the fighter was admitted for the weekend in line with medical procedure, which required all tests related to head injuries to be conducted.
Sigqibo was advised to lay off training for six months and required to undergo neurological tests, including an MRI scan, before resuming training and his career.
Njekanye declined to say if Sigqibo had undergone the tests but said he was ready to reignite his promising career, during which he won the SA junior bantamweight title, later scaling the world ratings.
Perched at third spot in the WBO rankings, Sigqibo lost to future champion Kosei Tanaka in Japan in December 2022.
He fought only once in 2023, beating Namibian Jonas Matheus, before another lengthy layoff going into the Malajika fight.
Despite his lack of activity in the ring, he was favoured to beat Malajika but suffered a brutal beating in the first stoppage loss of his three defeats in 22 bouts.
Daily Dispatch
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