Siseko Makeleni’s wishes to become the pride of South African boxing has finally come to fruition. Rated No.1 by Boxing SA’s (BSA) in July rankings, the Eastern Cape-based boxer will face defending champion ‘Prince” Dlomo on Sep. 26 at Booysens Hall, southern Johannesburg.
This fight has been on the cards since March when BSA instructed Dlomo to make a mandatory defence against Makeleni. The instruction was that Dlomo — whose career is guided by trainer Charity Mukondeleli — must do that within 90 days from the day he dethroned Xolani Mcotheli, which was March 20.
But no promoter seemed to have interest in that bout until recently when the Gauteng Boxing Promoters Association (GBPA) acquired the signatures of the two boxers. It has the attributes of an outstanding fight, based on the sudden turn of events for Dlomo, whose unimpressive CV of 12 wins, 11 losses and a draw relegated him to being classified as a journeyman.
A talented boxer, who had not won a title since his first pro fight in 2011, Dlomo, 32, sprung a big surprise by knocking out Xolisani Ndongeni in the fifth round in October and followed that up with a spirited performance that convinced judges that he had done just enough to end the reign of Mcotheli as the South African junior welterweight champion on March 20.
On the other hand Makeleni — a young buck who has recorded eight wins in 10 fights — lost in his first attempt at winning a belt when he was knocked out in round four by Congolese Marios Matamba for the WBO Africa title in 2018. Makeleni, 20, has not seen action since June 8 2019 when he defeated Luvuyo Mphuthi.
Two members of the provincial promoters’ association — Bongani Dlamini and Cyril Lehong — have been tasked with the organisation of the upcoming tournament. The pair says they have already applied with BSA for that date to be made available to them. The entire bill — which features two titles (a national and a provincial titles) — has already been presented to BSA for sanctioning.
“This will be our second tournament — the first being last week — to commemorate Women's Day — and this upcoming one is part of the Heritage Month’s celebrations,” explained Dlamini yesterday. “We, as the boxing fraternity, cannot be left out in those celebrations. This is our contribution to help foster South Africans to appreciate different cultures in this diverse country.”
Lehong said: “We have prepared an exciting bill which features young and upcoming fighters. I am sure that fans will enjoy watching the full bill from the comfort of their homes since it will be televised live on SABC.”
Lybon Ntsani will put the Gauteng welterweight belt on the line against Onke Duku over 10 rounds while Anthony Moloisane will risk his No.1 spot in the junior lightweight against No.4 contender Subusiso Zingange. Sabelo Nkosi — who is rated No.7 in the mini flyweight division — will face No.2 contender Loyiso Ngantweni. Eastern Cape will have four boxers in this tournament.
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