It looks like Nhlanhla ‘Mount Kilimanjaro’ Tyirha’s move from East London to Johannesburg last month was what the doctor ordered as the former South African junior-flyweight champion already has a fight lined up.
Tyirha, who is now trained by former SA bantamweight champion Phumzile ‘Sweet Chocolate’ Matyhila, is scheduled to face off against Mfanuvele Ntuli at the Box Camp Booysens, Johannesburg, on Friday, 08 March. Ntuli from KwaZulu-Natal is highly-rated as he is number one in the SA junior-flyweight ratings.
This is going to be Tyirha’s first fight since he suffered a shock eighth round stoppage loss to Malawian boxer George Kandulo at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC) in July last year. That defeat came at a heavy price as Tyirha lost ratings in all the major world boxing bodies after that.
Soon after welcoming Tyirha in Johannesburg, Matyhila said that he had picked up a few things, which he wanted to work on with his Mdantsane homeboy. Now it will be interesting to see whether the 48-year-old 2000 Olympian will be able to transform Tyirha and take him back to the top where he was before the Kandulo loss.
