By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Ludumo Lamati knows that only three people get to be inside the ring whenever he’s fighting, whether it’s here at home or abroad thus he doesn’t mind travelling to Northern Ireland to fight against Nick Ball from Liverpool in the United Kingdom in less than three weeks’ time.
Lamati is scheduled to square up against Ball in a World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver featherweight title fight at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday, 27 May.
“Fighting away from home is not a problem to me. I once did that and I came out victorious. I fought against a tougher opponent before and I prevailed. I will prevail against Nick Ball,” Lamati, who’s turning 31 on Friday, 19 May, remarked.
This fight is going to pit two unbeaten boxers against each other with Lamati having registered 21 victories (11 knockouts) and a draw while Ball has won all his 17 fights with 10 of those ending prematurely.
The former South African and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) junior-featherweight titlist’s duel with Ball is going to be on the undercard of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight title contest between reigning champion Luis Alberto Lopez from Mexico and Irishman Michael Conlan.
Meanwhile, Lamati, who is trained by former SA bantamweight champion Phumzile Matyhila, will be fighting for the second time in the featherweight division.
He stopped Mark Anthony Geraldo from the Philippines in the fourth round in his first fight in the featherweight division in Durban in November last year.