Xaba Promotions are not resting on their laurels in their quest to produce more SA champions despite holding the record for owning the most national title-holders in the country.
The East London promotion company will bid to add another champion to their stable when their charge Moyisi Booi vies for the vacant SA junior-bantamweight title against KwaZulu-Natal’s Ntethelelo Magcaba at East London’s Orient Theatre on September 28.
Booi, from Mdantsane, will be bidding to return the belt to XP after former client Phumelela Cafu claimed it with a sensational one-punch first-round knockout of Enathi Stelle in December 2023.
Cafu succeeded XP charge Landile Ngxeke, who had vacated it to chase the bantamweight belt which he won on the same card by forcing Lusizo Manzana to quit in the third round due to a shoulder injury.
Cafu later bolted from the XP stable with the title he later relinquished after winning the WBO title, leaving Duncan Village’s Cape Town-based Lwando Mgabi to ascend to it with a points victory over Sihle Jelwana.
However, Mgabi forfeited the belt at the scales before his scheduled defence against Sechaba Zuma in June with Booi, who had destroyed Jelwana to vault to the title mix, and Magcaba mandated to contest the vacant crown.
Booi, a former amateur standout, is the favourite to win the title after displaying ruthless power in the junior-bantamweight division by taking a combined three rounds to knock out his foes since moving up from flyweight after suffering his lone loss against Ndabezinhle Phiri in seven bouts.
XP already own the junior-flyweight (Siseko Teyisi), bantamweight (Ngxeke), junior-featherweight (Siyabulela Hem), junior-lightweight (Asanda Gingqi) and lightweight (Khaya Busakhwe) titles.
This makes them the SA promoter owning the most titles in the country, with Hem scheduled to defend his against Vusi Ngcamu in the main attraction of the September card.
XP boss Ayanda Matiti has consistently advocated for the respect of SA titles, insisting they give boxers career advancements before taking on the world.
“More than making a boxer feel special with championship credentials, SA titles are a measure of career progress and potential towards a world title,” he said.
“We have always encouraged our boxers to first clean out at home by winning the SA title before we unleash them on the world scene.”
Cafu used the SA title to introduce himself when he burst onto the scene as an unknown to hold the then-feared Jackson Chauke to a draw in a flyweight title challenge in 2022 before moving up to the junior-bantamweight to starch Stelle in 26 seconds.
Booi and Magcaba have fight records of six wins apiece, with the KwaZulu-Natal boxer yet to taste a loss.
Daily Dispatch
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