By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Eldorado Park-based female boxer Melissa Miller still insists that she won her last two fights against Sharadene Fortuin from the Eastern Cape even though the judges ruled otherwise.
Miller will be hoping to be fourth time lucky when she challenges South African female bantamweight champion Fortuin at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC) on Sunday, 2 July.
Already, Miller has lost three times to Fortuin and she suffered her most recent loss in December 2021. Now she gets yet another opportunity to avenge all the defeats inflicted on her by Seymour-born Fortuin and reclaim the title she lost to the same boxer in August 2021.
“I fully agree that she won the first time we met. But she knows that I beat her in our last two fights even though the judges saw things differently. I was robbed in both fights. I’m going to make sure that I win convincingly this time around even if it means I must knock her out,” Miller said.
Given a choice, the 37-year-old 2018 Female Boxer Year award winner wouldn’t fight against Sharadene. However, a lack of opponents has forced her to square up against Fortuin yet again.
“At times, I feel like not fighting against her. But I have no choice because there’s not a lot of female boxers. So we are forced to fight against each other instead of being inactive,” Miller remarked.
