As if he knew that he was going to face Roarke Knapp in his next fight, Phikelelani ‘Stinger’ Khumalo travelled to the Emperors Palace to watch Knapp when he fought against Brandon Thysse at the Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, venue in March this year.
And Khumalo saw enough of Knapp even though he suffered a ninth round stoppage loss to Thysse in a fight for the South African and World Boxing Council (WBC) junior-middleweight titles.
Now, Khumalo is set to return to the Emperors Palace for a showdown with Knapp as he will be making the second defence of his SA middleweight title on Saturday, 21 November. The last time Khumalo climbed into the ring at the Emperors Palace was when he quickly dispatched DonJuan van Heerden in the first round when they fought for the SA and vacant African Boxing Union (ABU) middleweight titles in November.
“I’m coming to take him out. This is a match that I predicted would happen, that’s why I went to his fight against Brandon. I knew the loser would come to the middleweight. I can’t wait for this fight,” Khumalo said.
Khumalo, a former Lamontville Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United player, has not fought since his win over Van Heerden in November last year.
Interestingly, Knapp’s last seven fights ended in stoppages with him winning four bouts of those while losing on three occasions. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
