After Boxing South Africa (BSA) turned down an application for a title fight between SA middleweight titlist Phikelelani Khumalo and Donjuan van Heerden, which was set for Saturday, 21 June, the regulator has since written to the champion demanding he defends his crown.
And Khumalo’s manager Colin ‘Nomakanjani’ Nathan from NO DOUBT Management has written back telling BSA that it’s their fault that his boxer won’t be defending his crown soon. And Nathan reminded the regulator about its decision not to sanction the title defence against Van Heerden.
In a letter to Khumalo, BSA director of operations Mandla Ntlanganiso said: “We draw your attention to regulation 17(3)(a) of the boxing regulations and sanctioning and championship policy and rules Section 11.2. Our records show that you won your title on 15 March 2025 and you are required to defend your title on a voluntary status within 90 days from the date of winning your title, which is 15 June 2025.”
Ntlanganiso added: “In line with Section 17(3)(a) of the boxing regulations, we thus confirm that you are overdue for a mandatory defence. This means that you have an obligation to indicate your next date of this defence before Boxing SA instructs you on the manner you must defend your title as espoused in the regulations.”
The boxing regulator gave Khumalo, who dethroned John Bopape from Alexandra in March, five days to respond to the letter.
And responding to the letter, Nathan said: “Kindly note that the mandatory challenger Mr Van Heerden’s management team accepted the contest, only to be turned down by your offices on the basis that a new resolution had to be signed by the BSA board.”
Nathan added that Dean Promnick, who is rated number two in the BSA ratings, declined an offer to challenge Khumalo because he’s promoted by another promoter while Aquila Boxing Promotions had earmarked to have the fight in two weeks’ time. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
