It’s time for Fuzile to be one potent hit
Orient battle will be crucial bout
BROWSING through the featherweight division is hard to find someone who can really put up a challenge to Duncan Village sensation Azinga Fuzile.
The boy’s talent is above any boxer in the division but that does not mean we should not see him fight his fellow opponents. Like they say in boxing, we will never really know about the outcome until they fight the fights so Fuzile has to fight the fights to prove his potential.
That is why his clash against Sydney Maluleke at Orient Theatre on Sunday is equally crucial for him.
Admittedly he will enter the ring as a favourite due to a number of reasons. One, Fuzile beat Macbute Sinyabi to snatch the SA featherweight crown which he will put on the line against Maluleke.
And Maluleke lost to Sinyabi so there goes the script or does it.
But they say styles make fights and boxing is not algebra where one needs to balance the equation.
Just because boxer A beat boxer B who beat boxer C does not therefore mean boxer C will lose to boxer A.
“We take this fight as equally important as we took the Sinyabi fight,” reasoned Fuzile’s trainer Mzamo Njekanye. “Like you say styles make fights and you know after our victory over Sinyabi we cannot drop the ball now because everyone is expecting us not only to beat Maluleke but to do so in impressive fashion.”
Some are already wondering why Fuzile is still handled in EL when his talent should’ve attracted big promoters brandishing cheque books.
But loyalty is a virtue to the 20year-old and he is not about to dump all and sundry hence he is still with Mzamo and Rumble Africa Promotions which will organise the Sunday fight. “Yes there were lots of promises that came after our win over Sinyabi but we decided to remain rooted and do what we have been doing before. If any opportunity comes we will consider it but so far Rumble Africa is doing a great job for us,” said Mzamo.
While the boxing scene is only starting to sit and take note of Fuzile’s talent those in his inner circles have long raved about him since his amateur days. He has won several medals at the junior championships but was allegedly a victim of bias from amateur head honchos who denied him an opportunity to be part of the national team.
“Fuzile fought hard against his opponents and his bosses who did not want him to progress in the amateur ranks,” one amateur insider said.
“This is why some people did not know him like other so-called amateur stars we hear about.”
One person who knew Fuzile from the days of his vest fighting is SA National Amateur Boxing Organisation (Sanabo) president Andile Mofu who took time off his busy schedule to attend the Sinyabi fight.
A breeder of several boxing talents, Mofu goes about doing his job quietly without looking for fanfare.
“I came here to show support to my son and unlike others who are shocked by what has just happened I knew it was going to pan out this way,” Mofu told Boxing Mecca after the Sinyabi fight.
Just how far will Fuzile go in boxing? Already he is drawing comparisons with the Ukrainian great Vasyl Lomachenko who is also smashing boxing records before reaching 10 professional fights.
The uber-talented Ukrainian has already won two major world titles propelling him to the pound for pound summit in most boxing publications. Like Fuzile he had a stellar amateur career and like Fuzile he is a southpaw.
Heck, his reign also started in the featherweight division and is currently on course to conquering the junior-lightweight where he already holds the WBO world title.
But Fuzile does not want his name to be associated with Lomachenko as yet saying he is yet to achieve plenty before he is mentioned in the same sentence with the Ukrainian.
“I will just do my thing quietly. It will be up to people to say where I belong.” This may come sooner than he anticipates if he continues his total destruction of Maluleke on Sunday. — Boxing Mecca