Top guns 'scared' of Budler

Hekkie Budler has discovered that securing top-notch opponents is as difficult as finding a wedding planner.

The boxer, who is set to tie the knot on November 1, defends his World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Organisation strawweight crowns in Monte Carlo on Saturday.

Budler is confident of getting past challenger Pigmy Kokietgym, but his longer-term plan is getting a unification bout.

It had seemed a done deal when he received a message on Facebook a few months back from Japan's International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion, Katsunari Takayama, who suggested they get it on with both their belts at stake.

Budler didn't respond but passed it on to his promoter, Rodney Berman, who wasted little time getting in touch with Takayama's people.

"I offered the IBF champion $75000 and five air fares to fight Hekkie in Monaco, which would be neutral territory for both camps," said Berman, who has an exclusive deal to promote fights in the principality.

"They said 'we'll discuss, we'll call back', and I never heard back."

He admitted that the purse he promised was more than he would pay Budler, but the boxer was philosophical about it.

"I understand the situation," Budler said, before his final sparring session in Johannesburg this week. "If you get the opportunity, there's more money down the line."

His chief financial goal is putting down a sizable deposit on a house after he and fiancée Roxy get married on November 1.

They have already identified the marriage venue, but have experienced trouble with the wedding planners employed there.

"The first one got fired, and now the second one has just resigned. Now we've got to deal with a third one," said Budler, who leads a reasonably frugal existence.

He lives in an outside room at his parents home and when he goes to training, he still wears an old national tracksuit from his amateur days.

At the moment he does not have a car, relying on his fiancée and father Hector for lifts.

Not that he minds - Budler does not enjoy driving, even though he's had a licence since he was 18. "It's not for me," he says with a smile.

While some pundits expect him to stop Kokietgym inside the distance, the fighter insists he's ready to go the distance.

"I just go to win," said Budler, who has transformed into a puncher after being a light hitter for much of his career.

"I feel a lot stronger than I used to, but you can't rely on that. That's when you run into problems," said Budler, 26, who has a record of 26 wins and one defeat.

Kokietgym, 32, has more than double Budler's experience, with 52 victories, six losses and two draws.

He was stopped four times early in his career, but his only defeat in his next 42 fights, over the past 11 years, was a split decision for the very same WBA crown in late 2010.

Berman, like Budler, would love a unification showdown.

The promoter said he made the same offer to World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Osvaldo Novoa, but his people had turned it down.

"They're not interested in unifying, they just want to defend the WBC belt."

Berman said he had also been rejected by unbeaten Wanheng Menayothin of Thailand.

Menayothin is ranked No2 by The Ring magazine.

"Hekkie is too good. They're all scared," he said of his fighter, who is rated the best strawweight on the planet by The Ring and Fightnews.com.

One unique prize Budler stands to claim if he were to win a unification bout is the prestigious Ring belt.

"No South African has done that before," said Budler.

sports@timesmedia.co.za