Moruti Mthalane spoke a little and sweated a lot at his send-off in Johannesburg on Wednesday ahead of his bid to recapture the IBF flyweight crown in Malaysia next weekend.
His trainer-manager Colin Nathan had organised an informal farewell function with the 35-year-old fighter and Boxing SA (BSA) CEO Tsholofelo Lejaka as the main attractions.
Mthalane‚ with 35 wins and two losses‚ will try to lift the vacant belt from Muhammad Waseem‚ a 30-year-old Pakistani boasting an unblemished professional record of just eight wins along with a bagful of amateur medals including a 2014 Commonwealth Games silver.
They meet on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s newest welterweight title bid against Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur.
Lejaka‚ as administrators often do‚ spoke plenty as he wished Mthalane luck‚ pointing out he would become South Africa’s 11th reigning world champion‚ joining seven men and three women as holders of various world titles.
But only Zolani Tete‚ the WBO bantamweight champion‚ and Mthalane’s stablemate Hekkie Budler‚ the IBF‚ WBA and Ring magazine junior-flyweight king‚ hold bona fide titles.
Mthalane is looking to join them as the country’s third genuine world champ.
“I promise I won’t let you down. I will bring home the world title‚” said Mthalane‚ before starting his training which‚ although it didn’t involve sparring‚ produced plenty of sweat.
Mthalane‚ who flies out with Nathan on Friday afternoon‚ is fighting for this IBF title for the third time in his career.
First was November 2011 when he was acquitting himself well against Pacquiao’s fellow Filipino‚ Nonito Donaire‚ when he suffered a cut and lost on a sixth-round technical knockout.
Twelve months later he won the vacant title in Johannesburg‚ and made four defences before being stripped after refusing to defend the belt for what would have been peanuts.
He was inactive for 18 months before winning the marginal IBO flyweight belt‚ which he defended twice before relinquishing that to chase a third shot at the IBF title.
Two South Africans had failed previously to win that same belt before Mthalane‚ Baby Jake Matlala in 1991 and Mzukisi Sikali in 2005.
–sowetanlive.co.za
