It looks like it will take a long time before Ronald Malindi and Lusizo Manzana trade blows as their fight scheduled for Sunday was called off.
The unbeaten Malindi was set to defend his South African bantamweight title against Manzana at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC). This was going to be Malindi’s fifth defence of the title he captured after he defeated Mbulelo Dyani in September 2018.
The fight was called off after Malindi’s trainer Sean Smith refused to travel to East London without an assistant following a request by Rumble Africa Promotions (RAP) after the promotional outfit was forced to cut its owing to the withdrawal of its major sponsor.
Contacted for comment, Smith said: “Two days before the bout they pulled the Sonjica fight off the bill. Then they didn’t want to fly my assistant down to East London. I told them that I cannot work like that. The safety of my boxer comes first. If I can’t help my boxer to the best of my ability then my work is compromised. I asked for an extra hotel room and they said no. I then withdrew.”
Meanwhile, Ayabonga Sonjica who is trained by Smith was due to fight against Grey Chimkwapulo from Malawi, but the fight was called a few days ago.
