By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Anyone whose tournament had been cancelled on the eve of it taking place would have had his spirit dampened, but it’s not the case with Xaba Promotions boss Ayanda Matiti.
The 2017 Promoter of the Year award winner is unfazed and has put the disappointment of not being able to deliver a tournament behind him as he’s now preparing for a July show. Xaba Promotions had scheduled a tournament at the Sun City Superbowl in Rustenburg on Saturday, only for the event to be called off just a day before it was due to take place after funders had pulled out.
The tournament was going to be headlined by an IBF International junior-bantamweight clash between Phumelela ‘The Truth’ Cafu from Duncan Village in East London and Mexican boxer Hugo Guarneros Gonzalez.
East London-based Matiti, who is the chairperson of the National Professional Boxing Promoters’ Association (NPBPA), has revealed that his July tournament will feature South African junior-bantamweight champion Landile Ngxeke and Cafu.
“I’m already working on our next event, which is the eighth annual celebration of Madiba as a boxer. The Madiba event has historical commitments. Where the tournament will be held, we will reveal the soonest,” Matiti told Ink Sport.
“Cafu is rated number eight by the IBF and 10th by the WBA. Winning the fight against the Mexican would have propelled him to the top three depending on how he won. Already, I’m in discussions with the camp of Fernando Martinez from Argentina for him to come to the country in September. I wanted Cafu to rest in July because Martinez is not a pushover.”
Matiti is, however, not sure whether reigning SA flyweight champion Jackson ‘M3’ Chauke would be part of the July tournament or not. Chauke, who turns 38 this coming Monday, had been scheduled to fight against Jayson Vayson from the Philippines in an IBF Intercontinental flyweight bout in Rustenburg.
“On Chauke, I’m not sure if the condition is the same. I don’t know if there won’t be any commitments for his South African title obligations,” Matiti said.
