Zulu king defends boxing promoter embroiled in Floyd Mayweather fiasco

Zulu King Misuzulu has come out swinging for the embattled boxing promoter accused of stiffing Floyd Mayweather, saying he had requested the American superstar to be invited. 

The monarch said the tournament, already delayed from Sunday to Tuesday, would now take place on Thursday at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban. 

Promotional company J4Joy, and specifically its CEO Arnold Nododile, was hit with a lawyer’s letter last week accusing him of breaching a contract with Mayweather’s The Money Team (TMT) after allegedly failing to pay the agreed amount for him to attend and then ducking and diving attempts to get hold of him.

J4Joy also allegedly illegally used Mayweather’s image in posters to publicise the tournament. 

The lawyer’s letter further suggested the king had not given approval for the use of his image on promotional posters. 

But on Sunday King Misuzulu issued a statement, co-signed by J4Joy head Jacob Mnisi, in which he gave the tournament a royal seal of approval. 

He avoided any reference to the controversy around the bout, although a spokesperson told TimesLIVE King Misuzulu would speak on those points later in the day. 

“I mandated J4Joy to invite the legendary boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather as my guest of honour so that he can share in my father’s vision and also help with creating an environment where our youth can learn to be solid leaders within communities,” the king wrote in the statement.

The king said a Bayede championship belt, designed by his late father, would be awarded to the new KwaZulu-Natal provincial champion at the tournament.

TimesLIVE has been told of boxers outside of Durban still waiting for the promoter to issue their flight tickets to Durban.

Reached for comment Nododile did not respond to the allegations by Mayweather, but instead referred TimesLIVE to the king's statement.

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.