Boxing fans love a great comeback story. Muhammad Ali refused to allow himself to be drafted into the US army, in protest against the Vietnam War and racial oppression in the US in 1967.
At the time he was the undefeated heavyweight champion, but as he was plunged into a lengthy legal battle, the various athletic commissions in the country refused to license him to fight and forced him into retirement. But it was his remarkable achievements after his return from exile in the 1970s that made him the most beloved sports figure of his era.
Still, successful comebacks are rare. Even elite fighters have trouble returning to their prior form after a long layoff. Competition at the top is so fierce, even a minor loss of timing and other physical abilities can spell the difference between victory and defeat.
Promoter says Sunday's fight a must-win for seasoned left-hander will add the latest chapter to the boxing comeback story in his return to action on Sunday at Booysens gym. Zolani Tete last fought in 2019 when he surrendered the WBO bantamweight belt in three rounds to Johnriel Casimero.
The 33-year-old left-hander will face the little-known Mustafa Ally Said over 10 rounds. The 23-year-old Tanzanian has been a professional boxer since 2014. Said failed to win the ABU belt in the bantamweights in 2019 and also lost to Alfred Lampey for both the WBC and WBO Youth junior-lightweight belts in Accra, Ghana, on September 4.
That was his fourth defeat against 13 wins.
His fight against the experienced Tete – a former IBF junior-bantamweight holder who has knocked out 21 of his 28 victims – will be contested in the junior-featherweight division, and Tete’s manager Mlandeli Tengimfene said this is now Tete’s weight class.
Tengimfene made it clear last week that the fight on Sunday, under the Gauteng Boxing Promoters' Association, is a must-win for Tete to relaunch his international career which saw him become the first African fighter to participate in the World Boxing Super Series. Tete pulled out of the unification bout with WBA Super champ Nonito Donaire due to shoulder injury in April 2019.
Tengimfene said Tete is now trained by Andile Mofu, Makazole Tete and Vuyani Bungu, while Thulasizwe Sifatyi is the boxer’s strength conditioner.
If big fight temperament and a history of facing quality opponents are anything to go by, Tete should not have difficulty sweeping Said aside.
In the main attraction, Tete’s homeboy in Mdantsane, Phila Mpontshane will bid for the fifth defence of the SA junior-lightweight belt against Sibusiso Zingange over 12 rounds. Victory will make Mpontshane the outright owner of the BSA championship belt. Mpontshane is trained by Bungu’s younger brother and former professional boxer Dudu Bungu.
Action begins at 2pm.
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