The wait is over. Ghana’s Jesse Manyo Plange will end a two-year layoff when he makes his ring return this Friday, November 4, in Tanzania.
Plange (21-0-1, 17 KOs) will take on Tanzania’s Fadhili Majiha (28-14-4, 14 KOs) in an eight round bantamweight battle at the Super Dome Arena in Dar-Es-Salaam.
Majiha, a former WBA Africa Champion, will be fighting in his backyard but Plange is just happy to be back and shake off the rust.
“I am glad that I’m coming back to the ring to fight on November 4 after a long absence,” Plange told BoxingAfrica.com.
“This an opportunity I have been looking for all this while that I have been without a fight. I know I will deliver on that night.”
It’s been a long journey filled with empty promises for Plange, who arrived in the U.S. 11 months ago with the help of his manager Nelson Azzur, CEO of LPMG Global, and promoter Greg Cohen.
Plange’s last fight took place in December 2020, a unanimous points win over Alexis Kabore in Nigeria. He was then slated to face Nicaragua’s Melvin Lopez in a WBA bantamweight title eliminator set to occur in June 2021 in Las Vegas.
When that fight well through, Plange embarked on what he called a “training tour,” training in the United Kingdom while awaiting a fight date which never came.
This didn’t stop his handlers from bringing him to the U.S. with a promise of a bout stateside. Plange grew frustrated with the uncertainty, as he explained to readers here: https://boxingafrica.com/2022/07/jesse-manyo-plange-is-living-an-american-nightmare/
Following months of turmoil, Plange now returns to Africa for this match on Friday night.
“I give thanks to my management team for getting this fight through because it’s been long since I last fought and it is not easy,” said Plange.
“Since I got to the US, I have been training hard but I’m yet to fight and I am grateful for the opportunity to get back.”
The plan, according to Plange, is to secure a convincing victory over Majiha which should aid him in getting ranked after inactivity had caused him to fall out of the rankings. Plange will then focus on making his US debut.
“I am still training in the US and I will prepare here for the fight in Tanzania. This fight is a tune-up for me,” Plange declared.
“I know after this fight I’m going to go back to the rankings and that is what I am looking forward to so I can focus on fighting in the US.”
Majiha, on the other hand, is on a four-fight winning streak but will also be making a return to the ring after a one-year absence. He has recorded three knockout wins in those last four bouts, along with a unanimous decision victory over Abdallah Zamba in 2020.
“From what I know about my opponent, he is very experienced and strong but I believe I have what it takes to give him a good fight,” said Plange.
Also on the card, Plange’s compatriot, Patrick Aryee (22-1-1, 13 KOs), will take on Tanzania’s Saleh Kassim (8-2-2, 2 KOs) in an eight-round super featherweight contest.
Aryee is coming off a unanimous decision win over Nigeria’s Fatai Nurudeen in August at the Police College in Ikeja.
