Ayabonga ‘Jay Jay’ Sonjica will be attempting to succeed where his four compatriots – Mxolisi Zuma, Thato Bonokoane, Sabelo Ngebiyane and Innocent Mantengu – failed, as he fights against tough Namibian boxer, Fillipus Nghitumbwa, next month.
The 30-year-old Nghitumbwa has been dominant in fights against South African opponents, stopping all four of them. He’s rated sixth by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and is 10th in the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) ratings.
Sonjica, a former South African junior-featherweight champion and a 2012 Olympian, faces Nghitumbwa in a WBO Global junior-featherweight title fight in Rundu, Namibia, on Saturday, 21 November.
Confirming the fight against Nghitumbwa, Sonjica’s trainer, Sean Smith, said: “Yes, it’s true that Jay Jay is going to fight in Namibia next month.”
The 35-year-old Sonjica will be fighting for the first time since his points victory over Rofhiwa Nemushungwa at the Silver Lakes Farm, Pretoria, in November last year.
Sonjica was due to have fought in July, but the fight against Nigerian opponent, Taiwa Agbaje, was called off a week before it was due to take place. This happened after Agbaje’s promoter refused to let his boxer fight at a tournament organised by his rival. –
The Duncan Village-born Sonjica has 14 wins with 10 knockouts and a single loss while Nghitumbwa has registered 17 victories, 25 stoppages and two defeats. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
