By Monwabisi Jimlongo
The disappointment of having his fight cancelled at the eleventh hour is going to be wiped off former world champion DeeJay Kriel’s face as he returns to action next month.
The erstwhile International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimumweight titlist clashes with Jafet Dhiginina Amukwa from Namibia in an international flyweight bout in Johannesburg on Saturday, 15 July.
“He’s fighting a Namibian. We wanna get him back in the ratings now if he’s comfortable at flyweight, which I suspect he will be,” Kriel’s trainer Colin ‘Nomakanjani’ Nathan said.
Two-time Trainer of the Year award winner Nathan, a South African Boxing Awards nominee in the Manager of the Year category, added: “I’ll be getting him into the top 15 in the world. Maybe mid-next year we will get a world title shot.”
With a record of 17 victories (eight stoppages), two losses and a draw, Kriel has not fought since he defeated former South African flyweight champion Thembelani Nxoshe at The Galleria in Sandton, Johannesburg, in December last year.
The 28-year-old Kriel was due to have fought in Johannesburg last month, but his opponent Sundeep Kumar from India encountered visa problems, which forced the cancellation of their fight.
Meanwhile, Amukwa was stopped in the third round by his countryman Fillemon Nghutenanye when they fought for the World Boxing Association (WBA) Pan-African flyweight title in Otjiwarongo, Namibia, in May last year.
The 36-year-old Amukwa, who was born in Ongozi, Namibia, but based in Windhoek, has a professional record of nine wins (three knockouts), four defeats and a draw.
