With his 40th birthday only four months away, world champion Jackson ‘M3’ Chauke would love to have an early celebration as he collides with Ricardo Malajika at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park in March.
At stake will be Chauke’s International Boxing Organisation (IBO) flyweight belt, which he won when he outpointed Afghan-born Briton Kaisy Khademi in London in January last year.
Boasting almost 17 years as a professional boxer, the 39-year-old Chauke will be making his first defence of his IBO crown when he meets Malajika on Saturday, 1 March.
“Preparations have been good. I’m feeling strong, just a few touch ups, here and there. We’re ready to fight. I’m not going in there to look for a knockout, but if it comes, it will be a bonus. I’m going to win with a dominant performance,” Chauke remarked.
On the other hand, going to fight at the Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park will be more like giving Malajika, the current IBO junior-bantamweight champion, home ground advantage.
Malajika has made the Emperor’s Palace his home having fought 15 of his 16 fights at the Kempton Park venue. Only his April 2022 loss to Sikho Nqothole was held outside Gauteng in Sun City, Rustenburg. – Monwabisi Jimlongo