Qumbu-born Thembani Mbangatha gets an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of former South African and world titlist Mzonke Fana, who is the only male boxer from Qumbu to have been a champion.
The 50-year-old Fana is a former SA lightweight titlist and also a two-time International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-lightweight champion.
Mbangatha, a police officer based in Cape Town, is scheduled to challenge SA junior-lightweight champion Asanda Gingqi at a Xaba Promotions tournament set for the International Convention Centre (ICC) in East London on Saturday next week.
“We are not afraid of anything. We are going to East London next week and we will take the title. Gingqi and I should have fought against each other in 2021, but the fight never took place,” a confident Mbangatha said.
“We were due to fight for the then vacant SA featherweight title two years ago. He ended up fighting against Abdul-Aziz Kunert and won. Now we get an opportunity to fight against each other and see who’s the best between the two of us.”
Meanwhile, Mbangatha is going to have his homeboy Fana in his corner during the shoot against Gingqi. Fana is an assistant to Mbangatha’s trainer Emil Brice.
