Unbeaten in seven fights, Tiisetso Matikinca, who returns to action just over a month after he stopped Mbulelo Gubula at the SunBet Arena in Time Square, Menlyn, Pretoria, is not entertaining any thoughts of fighting for the South African title as he wants to maintain his unblemished record.
With five stoppages in his seven wins, Mdantsane-born Matikinca fights against Tefo Letshikgwane from Botswana at The Galleria, Sandton, Johannesburg this coming Saturday.
“I’m fighting against a guy from Botswana on Saturday. This is my first international fight and I’m looking forward to it. I respect my opponent and I hope he’s going to give me a real fight. I’ve been getting fights, which ended quickly. I wanna show the skills that I have. I feel like I have not shown my skills since turning professional,” Matikinca said.
“I fought against Sanele Maduna. It was a nice fight, but it ended early. I also fought against Rofhiwa Nemushungwa. We had a good run and I enjoyed the fight. I’ve been trying to get fights against fellow South Africans, but no one wanted to fight me. Then Kevin Lerena and the matchmaker looked abroad and found an opponent for me. But the guy pulled out of the fight due to personal reasons.”
While other boxers engage in South African title contests before they even hit fight number 10, it’s not the case with Matikinca, who is rated number five in the SA bantamweight division.
“The SA title is in my mind, but I’m not ready to fight for it yet. I don’t want to rush things just like other boxers, who fight for the SA title and then disappear quickly. Maybe I will think about fighting for the SA title once I have fought more than 10 times,” Matikinca remarked.
Meanwhile, Tihareseleele-based Letshikgwane will be fighting for the first time in more than a year having last fought when he beat Zimbabwean Bongani Makorova at Fairgrounds, Gaborone, in October 2023.
It’s also the third time Letshikgwane will be fighting outside Botswana and is yet to win away from home. He lost to Namibians Johannes Simon and Nathaniel Kamati at the Windhoek Country Club Resort in the two fights he fought outside Botswana.
Actually, Lobatse-born Letshikgwane’s three losses were inflicted on him by Namibian boxers Simon, Kamati and Timoteus Shuulula. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
