Boxing South Africa (BSA) director of operations Mandla Ntlanganiso has revealed that he tried to bring peace between South African boxer Luvuyo Sizani and Russian promoter Maxim Mikhaylov from Ratel Pro Fight LCC.
Sizani signed a contract to face Russian boxer Artysh Lopsan in a 10 rounds bout in Prokopyevsk, Russia, on Friday, 30 September, only to later write to Mikhaylov asking to be excused from the fight citing family commitments.
That didn’t go down well with the Russian, who sought Ntlanganiso’s intervention after learning that Sizani had taken a fight against Rowan Campbell. Sizani clashes with Campbell in an eight rounds light-heavyweight bout at The Galleria in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Thursday next week.
“Mikhaylov wrote to us seeking intervention in the matter between him and Sizani even though BSA is not involved because the contract is between them. I had to intervene to make sure that we don’t break our relations with Russian promoters and also not jeopardise Sizani’s career,” Ntlanganiso said.
“Sizani explained to me that they are going to have a traditional ceremony at his home on the day he was due to fight in Russia. As an African, I had to understand him. I advised him to write a letter to Mikhaylov and apologise for what happened. I understand that his camp has already written the letter to Mikhaylov.”
Siyabulela ‘Baba’ Makala, who is a member of Team Sizani, said: “We wrote a letter apologising for what happened. We explained that there’s going to be a traditional ceremony at Luvuyo’s home thus he decided against travelling to Russia. Unfortunately, we have not received a response from them.”
Failure to persuade Mikhaylov to forget about his deal with Sizani might hit the reigning African Boxing Union (ABU) champion hard because a clause in the contract, which he signed on 8 August, says a boxer who fails to turn up for the fight will pay the promoter damages equal to the purse he was going to earn.
Ink Sport can reveal that Sizani from Ilinge in Komani was going to earn a $6 500 (about R114 350) purse for fighting in Russia.
Meanwhile, Sizani has been promised a shot at the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) Intercontinental light-heavyweight title should he win against Campbell.
