The date for Nhlanhla ‘Mount Kilimanjaro’ Tyirha’s next fight, which is against Filipino boxer Arnel ‘The Sniper’ Lofranco has been pushed back by more than a week.
According to the International Boxing Federation (IBF) website, the fight set for the Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town has now been moved from Saturday, 6 December to Sunday, 14 December.
This vacant IBF Intercontinental mini-flyweight title contest is going to be promoted by Loyiso Magqaza’s Ground Up Sports Promotions.
Once rated in the top 15 in four of the world’s major boxing bodies, Mdantsane-born Tyirha is expected to use this fight to return to the ratings.
The former South African junior-flyweight champion will take a record of 11 victories with two knockouts and three losses to the fight while the 21-year-old Lofranco has eight wins with five stoppages and a loss.
Lofranco will try to succeed where other Filipinos – Orrie Silvestre, Esneth Domingo, Jaysever Abcede and Joey Canoy – have failed as they all lost their fights to Tyirha.
Meanwhile, Tyirha was highly rated by the top four world boxing bodies until he was stopped by Malawian journeyman George Kandulo at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC) early in July 2023.
Before losing by a sixth round stoppage to Kandulo, Tyirha was rated sixth by the World Boxing Council (WBC), 12th in the World Boxing Association (WBA) ratings, fifth by the IBF and was seventh in the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) ratings.
