Vuyolomzi Mtekwana and Velile Damoyi have vehemently denied that they tried to drive a wedge between Phila Mpontshane and his manager Andy Mtshotshisa.
Instead, both Mtekwana and Damoyi have insisted that they were only interested in finding out what exactly happened to Mpontshane when he was preparing to defend his South African junior-lightweight title against Sibusiso Zingange.
The fight, which was scheduled for the Booysens Boxing Gym in Johannesburg on Sunday, 12 December, didn’t take place after Mpontshane tested positive for COVID-19.
“We asked for a meeting when they came back from Johannesburg. It was some sort of a debriefing. We were curious and wanted to know what exactly happened,” Mtekwana, who trains amateur boxers at Mdantsane’s NU 8 gym, said.
“It’s a well-known fact that Phila needs to fight. He’s part of our gym and we wish him to get a fight. I also fully understand his manager’s position and that Phila deserves a decent purse. He’s due for a fifth title defence and he should be compensated accordingly. That’s why I fully agree with his manager.”
Damoyi, meanwhile, also refuted claims that he was part of a group which wanted to separate Mpontshane and Mtshotshisa.
“We can’t take Phila away from Andy. Yes, we didn’t know about Andy being Phila’s manager until the talks regarding the Zingange fight. The meeting we had was about briefing us on what happened in Johannesburg,” Damoyi, who trains SA featherweight champion Asanda Gingqi at the NU 8 gym, said.
Mpontshane has made four defences of his title – against Koos Sibiya (twice) Lucky Monyebane and the late Anthony Maloisane. The 31-year-old Mpontshane has not fought since his loss to Khanyile Bulana in September 2019.
