DV sensation Fuzile aims for second title in 6 bouts
AZINGA Fuzile’s stunning unseating of the experienced Macbute Sinyabi in only his fifth fight is easily the best local performance of the year.
The feat took place four months ago, but it is still a hot topic as very few people gave him even an outside chance of beating a boxer of 33 bouts.
This makes it safe to say that the 20-year-old scholar is the biggest star to emerge this year.
Now those who missed that stupendous performance will have a chance to witness him in action at the Mdantsane Indoor Centre this Friday.
The wily southpaw will make a bid for another title in a clash with the Georgian Giorgi Gochisvili for the WBC Youth featherweight crown.
Should Fuzile win, as widely expected, he will set a new record of winning two major titles in only six professional bouts.
The Georgian will be the first international opponent for the Duncan Village wonder kid, and already big things are being predicted for him.
But, “we want to take one step at a time before thinking big,” said Fuzile’s trainer, Mzamo “Chief” Njekanye.
Njekanye – who is a hot favourite to bag trainer of the year in the upcoming national boxing awards – says it is imperative to keep his young dynamite man grounded.
“We don’t want to get carried away after beating Sinyabi.
“We knew that we were going to beat Sinyabi and now that we have achieved that, it is time to plan for other bouts.
“I want to emphasise that there is still a long way to go before we achieve our goals.”
Indeed, since his feat four months ago Fuzile has remained grounded by maintaining the discipline that helped him burst onto the scene in the first place.
He understands that a win over Gochisvili will not equate to what he achieved over Sinyabi.
“Now that we have beaten Sinyabi the spotlight will be on us to produce a similar performance or even better.
“We are up to the challenge because what people saw against Sinyabi was only about 70% of Azinga’s ability,” Njekanye said.
Unlike other boxers who hit the spotlight, Fuzile has decided to remain with his promoter, Rumble Africa Promotions, which will organise Friday’s fight.
This is despite several offers from big promoters, who promised him heaven and earth.
“We are loyal and to us that goes a long way. I know a lot of people expected us to dump Rumble Africa but this is not how we do things,” his trainer said.
Njekanye’s no-nonsense approach is credited for keeping a number of his boxers on the straight and narrow, as they take to him like a father.
He plucked Xolisani “Nomeva” Ndongeni from obscurity and guided him to dethrone hot favourite and SA junior lightweight champion Godfrey Nzimande.
Since then Ndongeni has become a household name, even though he left Njekanye for greener pastures in Johannesburg.
Undeterred, Njekanye went on to unearth new talent in Fuzile.
A fortnight ago he introduced another of his gems in Aphiwe Masengwana, who dispossessed 21-fight veteran Lwandisa Zinto of his EC featherweight crown in only his third professional fight.
Zinto, who had veteran trainer Loyiso Mtya in his corner and world class boxer Zolani Tete as his stablemate, could not comprehend the southpaw style of Masengwana as he got dropped en route to losing by unanimous decision.
Despite proving his worth, Njekanye – still refusing to blow his own horn – chooses to instead credit the discipline of his rising stars. “When one of my boxers fight the whole club is involved. Azinga’s victory was a win for the entire club and it inspired everyone in the club to keep the flag flying.”
Fuzile knows that he cannot drop the ball now that he is the face of the club.
“There is not much I can say here because I am still the same boxer I was before,” he said in his laid-back style. “I will have to go in there and do my job for the club and everything else will have to take care of itself.”
In Gochisvili, Fuzile will face a boxer who has lost seven times and drawn twice in 19 bouts with 10 wins. The Georgian is a year older than Fuzile, meaning fans can expect a high-paced bout.