Emerging boxing promoter Geraldine Lerena has put together a tournament that could even be more spectacular than her “Fistic Havoc” event that took place at The Galleria in Sandton on Friday.
Trading under the Aquila Boxing Promotion (ABP) banner, the wife of World Boxing Council bridgerweight world champ Kevin “Two Guns” Lerena staged that tournament at the same venue as her maiden tourney in March.
“As Fistic Havoc concluded with standout performances and rising rivalries, fans can expect even more explosive matchups in [the] future,” she said.
ABP will be back in action on August 1. The line-up is tantalising, with stylish Patrick “The Panther” Mukala taking on tough-as-nails Christiano “The Warrior of Faith” Ndombassy for the vacant IBO All Africa middleweight belt in the main bout.
Mukala, who is trained by Jodi Solomon, said: “I don’t know much about Ndombassy, but I don’t think he’s at my level. He’s nothing special for me.
“I don’t see him beating me. I’ve got everything to beat him and I'm going to knock him out. I believe in myself and my team, and I know what to do. He’s tough and I don’t underestimate him at all, but I believe I'm going to beat him.”
Mukala, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has not lost a fight since 2017. He has stopped seven of his eight opponents, including Namibian Paulinus “John John” Ndjolonimu, whom he knocked out to win the IBA super middleweight belt in Dubai in December.
Cape Town-based Ndombassy, from Angola — who pulverised Darrin “The Destroyer” Rossouw in one round in October last year — is a tough competitor but blows hot and cold.
The list of fighters for the tournament includes crowd favourite, Kaine “K9” Fourie; former SA junior featherweight champ Ayabonga “Jay Jay” Sonjica, who is from Mdantsane but fights out of the Sean Smith gym in Johannesburg; and Simnikiwe “Nuclear Bomb” Bongco from Duncan Village near East London, trained in Balfour Park by Shannon Strydom.
On Friday, Fourie pummelled Sifiso “Gold” Hlongwane into submission over five rounds in the “Fistic Havoc” tournament that lived up to its name and provided fans with terrific boxing entertainment.
The Galleria — a 750 capacity venue in Sandton — was the venue for that bout. Lerena provided the same venue for Kaine “K9” Fourie, whose loss after 10 fights to the unknown Zambian Simon “Hitman” Ngoma by a first-round KO in March was a reminder that no-one is invincible.
Ushered to battle by veteran trainer Gert Strydom against Hlongwane, an equally talented foe whose corner was manned by Nyiko Ndukula and Hloni Maboko, Fourie did everything right, including flooring Hlongwane twice in round five.
The tournament started light and became a house on fire. With the capacity crowd fully behind the fighters, Sabelo Ndwandwe and Shaun “Sneaky” Nkuna reciprocated with a performance reminiscent of a classic fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler at Caesars Palace in the US on April 6 1987.
Like Leonard, Nkuna adopted a strategy of using his speed and agility, while Ndwandwe, a come-forward fighter like Hagler, struggled to cut off the ring.
Rounds were close in terms of scoring, with both fighters having their moments, but Ndwandwe finished stronger to earn a unanimous two-point margin from three judges who scored their clean-fought fight 39-37.
In appreciation of their brilliant performance, Lerena gave the two debutants a bonus of R5,000 each.
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