By Monwabisi Jimlongo
East London boxing trainer Mzamo ‘Chief’ Njekanye is concerned about the proposed fight between his boxer Azinga ‘Golden Boy’ Fuzile and Martin Ward from the United Kingdom.
Njekanye, who reunited with Fuzile recently, believes that his boxer should have been given a ‘warm-up’ fight before facing Ward.
Fuzile’s clash against Ward was confirmed by the boxer’s manager Colin Nathan on Wednesday. This is going to be a contest for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-lightweight mandatory spot.
“I’m not going to be a stumbling block in the boy’s development as a boxer. I will support and work with whoever is assisting us in our efforts to take Azinga’s career forward,” Njekanye said.
“However, we need to remember that Azinga comes from the Rakhimov devastation. Maybe we should have gone for a make-up fight before fighting against Ward.”
Fuzile has not fought since he was stopped by Tajikistan boxer Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in an IBF junior-lightweight elimination bout in East London in September 2019.
On the other hand, Ward last fought when he defeated Jesus Amparan from Mexico in February 2020.
“If someone says Azinga must go fight Ward then that person is being reckless. Ward fought last year while Azinga last fought in 2019,” Njekanye said.
“I regard Ward to be in-form and I think the timing of this fight is wrong. People must not get me wrong here. Our ambition is to go for a world title, but Azinga has to regain his confidence first. I’m happy because Azinga and I are on the same page.”
The former South African featherweight champion is rated fifth by the IBF while Ward is fourth on the ratings.
The IBF junior-lightweight title is vacant after former champion Joseph Diaz from the United States lost it on the scales before his drawn fight against Rakhimov last weekend.
The IBF has since ordered Rakhimov and Kenichi Ogawa from Japan to fight for the vacant title.
