Lunga ‘Pressure Cooker’ Sitemela wants to make history yet again by becoming the first boxer from Dordrecht, Eastern Cape, to win a world title.
Sitemela put Dordrecht, a small town in the Chris Hani District Municipality, on the boxing map when he won the South African junior-lightweight title after he stopped Sibusiso Zingange in May last year.
Now he is looking at winning the World Boxing Federation (WBF) junior-lightweight title when he challenges Botswana boxer Steven Bagwasi. The 31-year-old Sitemela challenges Bagwasi, who was born in Mahalapye in Botswana, at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC) on Friday, 3 March.
“I will be travelling to Botswana to challenge for the WBF title against Bagwasi. I’m going to do my very best and win the fight. From the fights I have watched, I have seen that Bagwasi is a good boxer and a hard worker, too,” Sitemela said.
Bagwasi won the WBF title when he defeated Tanzanian Said Chino at the University of Botswana Indoor Sports Centre in Gaborone in August last year.
Fighting out of Cape Town, Dordrecht-born Sitemela will go to the Bagwasi fight on the back of a fourth round stoppage win over Khanyile Bulana during his first SA junior-lightweight title defence in November last year.
Sitemela will become the fifth South African boxer to trade leather with Bagwasi, who has beaten Koos Sibiya, Xolani Mgidi and the late Anthony Maloisane. Former SA lightweight champion Ayanda Nkosi remains the only South African boxer to have beaten the 28-year-old Bagwasi.
Sitemela has an impressive record of 15 victories (nine knockouts) and a loss while Bagwasi has eight wins (two stopages) and a defeat.
