By Monwabisi Jimlongo
That boxing trainer Sean Smith is happy with Thabiso ‘The Rock’ Mchunu’s return to the ring after more than two years of inactivity is very easy to understand as the boxer from KwaXimba clashes with Argentine opponent Yamil Alberto Peralta Jara next month.
This World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver cruiserweight title contest scheduled for Durban’s Olive Convention Centre on Friday, 22 March, is going to be Mchunu’s first fight since he lost to Ilunga Junior Makabu from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in January 2022. Makabu was defending his WBC cruiserweight title at the time.
“It was obviously tragic for Thabiso not to fight this long after he suffered a controversial split decision loss to Makabu. After that fight everything got cold. The war in Russia didn’t help either as we couldn’t go there even though we had offers. At least now we have a date with Nomvelo Promotions. We thank God that they are able to facilitate the bout. I’m grateful that we will get Thabiso back to winning ways,” Smith, who trains Mchunu, said.
Currently, Mchunu, who is going to celebrate his 36th birthday on Monday next week, is rated number three in the latest WBC ratings while the 32-year-old Peralta is one place below him.
“Thabiso is excited. He is a level-headed fighter. If he’s not in the gym, he’s home. He’s a clean-living fighter and a very grounded individual. Initally, he was not sure that the fight was gonna happen. The fight was set for the second of March and then got postponed to a later date. I told him that this is a great opportunity. He’s number three in the WBC ratings and Peralta is number four. A convincing win will be a good argument to get a world title shot,” Smith remarked.
Meanwhile, Smith’s other boxer Thulani ‘Evolution’ Mbenge is also going to fight in the Mchunu bill as he faces Argentine boxer Leandro Ariel Fonseca in a 10 rounds international bout.
“I’ve got Thulani also fighting in the undercard as well. I think it’s time to get the guys back to winning ways. After that, we will try to go international again. We have to win at home because it’s harder to do that overseas,” Smith said.
