Siphamandla ‘Toytoy’ Baleni reckons that whoever chose him as the next opponent of unbeaten Zimbabwean boxer Beaven Sibanda in June made a terrible mistake.
The former South African champion, who meets Sibanda in an eight rounds bout at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park on Saturday, 15 June, has insisted that the fight organisers will regret pitting him against the Zimbabwean.
“They took a wrong decision in choosing me as Sibanda’s opponent. I’m aware that they think I’m going to be an easy opponent for Sibanda. They are looking for an easy win,” Baleni remarked.
Baleni, who is trained by former SA flyweight champion Ncedo Cecane, added: “I’m going to shock them. It’s good that I’m giving him a chance to fight against me. I’m going to knock him out.”
Baleni, an erstwhile SA minimumweight and junior-flyweight titlist, last fought in South Africa when he defeated Mzamo Makhipheni by a stoppage at the Orient Theatre, East London, in December 2022.
Mthatha-born Baleni, who is rated 14th by the World Boxing Council (WBC), lost to Hasanboy Dusmatov from Uzbekistan in Russia in November last year. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
