Lamati in mean mood for Mahlangu clash
THERE is still a feeling out there that perhaps Ludumo Lamati has been rushed into challenging Bongani Mahlangu for the SA junior featherweight title.
The pair clash at Orient Theatre next Friday in a Xaba Promotion and Events (XPE) show featuring several former amateur stars.
Having just joined XPE after severing ties with Rumble Africa, Lamati now wants a piece of the national title cake and sees Mahlangu as the stumbling block to his aspirations of conquering the world.
The junior featherweight is the sacred weight division in Mdantsane as it first gave the township – in fact the entire province – its first world champion in Welcome Ncita, when he won the IBF junior featherweight crown by beating Frenchman Fabrice Benechou in Israel in 1990.
The division also made history by producing a boxer who holds the record of world title defences – when Vuyani Bungu retained his IBF crown 13 times. Now Lamati sees himself following in the footsteps of the two legends, but he will first need to deal with the conundrum that is Mahlangu.
Having started out as a bantamweight after a stellar amateur career, Lamati now stands on the verge of endearing himself and being anointed as the next king of the division.
But some detractors feel Mahlangu is all wrong for the budding Mdantsane star.
They feel the Soweto boxer’s style will not only flummox Lamati but will totally frustrate the youngster and perhaps leave a psychological scar on his entire career.
XPE boss Ayanda Matiti is hearing none of it, arguing that Lamati needed the fight and he could not stand on his way.
Matiti was at the forefront of the passing of the torch when novice Azinga Fuzile dethroned experienced Macbute Sinyabi for the SA featherweight crown in September.
He was roundly criticised for putting the then five-fight novice Fuzile against old trial-horse, Sinyabi, who came into the fight with over 30 bouts. But as it turned out, not only did Fuzile dethrone his more illustrious foe, but introduced himself to the entire boxing world with the win.
“We at XPE pride ourselves at giving boxers chances to prove themselves,” Matiti said.
“We did it to Fuzile and now Lamati wants his day in the sun and we are giving him the opportunity bask on it. It is up to him if he grabs it with both hands or not.”
Matiti conceded that his initial plans were to let Mahlangu vacate the title and move on to a world title challenge but when he could not secure it.
Lamati has all the tools to go far in the game, especially being unbeaten and having already won the prospect of the year before the return of the national boxing awards.
However, there is still uncertainty about his state of readiness for someone as awkward as Mahlangu, who has a knack of destroying East London-born boxers with impunity.
“They should call me ‘ EL excutioner’ because every time I come up against a boxer from that region I turn into an executioner,” Mahlangu once remarked after beating Mfusi Maxhayi of Mdantsane.
He followed up with another defeat of Bonakele Bhikitsha having also beaten boxers such as Toto Helebe, retired Vuyisile Bebe and Sinyabi.
But Lamati has an opportunity to stem the tide and stop the Mahlangu massacre. — Boxing Mecca correspondent