Newly-crowned South African junior-lightweight champion Lunga ‘Pressure Cooker’ Sitemela knew that he had it in himself to defeat Sibusiso Zingange even before they met in the ring.
And he felt good when he won the SA title via a 10th round technical knockout following Zingange’s failure to answer to the bell after dislocating his left shoulder during their fight at The Galleria in Johannesburg on Thursday evening.
“I feel good, I feel great. I have been waiting for so long to be an SA champion. I’m happy. We have been working hard for this title,” Sitemela, who is based in Cape Town, said.
Born in Dordrecht, Eastern Cape, almost 32 years ago, Sitemela went to the fight as an underdog as memories of Zingange’s brilliant performance against former SA champion Phila Mpontshane were still fresh in many boxing followers’ minds.
“He’s a good fighter, he’s a good boxer. Zingange is a brave guy, a smart boxer,” Sitemela, who is trained by Emil Brice, said.
So determined about winning the title was Sitemela that he didn’t stop training even when he was preparing to lay his late grandmother to rest in Dordrecht last month.
Soon after arriving in Dordrecht a day before his grandmother’s funeral, Sitemela was seen jogging on the streets in a bid to keep fit. And his determination has finally paid off now that he’s the national champion.
Sitemela now has a professional record of 14 victories with eight stoppages and a defeat while Zingange has now been stopped three times in the 17 wins, six losses and two draws he has registered.
The only blemish on Sitemela’s record is the loss he suffered to Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov from Tajikistan when they fought for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver junior-lightweight belt in Russia in March last year.
