Mvula must be advised to shape up or ship out

JUST how good is Siphosethu Mvula?

This question keeps popping up almost after the Duncan Village Chris Rock lookalike steps out of the ring.

Some believe Mvula is just a ticking bomb waiting to explode while others feel when the bomb does indeed blow the entire boxing world will witness the birth of a star.

These questions will likely continue after Mvula’s fight on Sunday when he takes on Innocent Mantengu at Orient Theatre.

There is no doubt that Mvula has abundance of talent but whether that is enough to take him far in boxing is another story altogether.

Mvula started well albeit on a soft landing when he rose to a national junior-bantamweight title conquest without ever beating a rated boxer. But he proved his mettle by besting the more experienced Unathi Gqokoma for the vacant belt benefiting from Zolani Tete’s sudden illness just when he was to face Gqokoma.

Tete ended up going via the world title route, a decision which proved to be a masterstroke.

Since beating Gqokoma when he allegedly injured his right hand midway through the fight, Mvula has never won another important fight.

Not only did he struggle to establish himself as a future star but he also could not beat that crucial opponent he is supposed to beat namely the scales. He ballooned to a junior-featherweight under which he will contest the IBF regional crown against Mantengu.

There were stories of ill-disciplined about Mvula but since teaming up with veteran trainer Loyiso Mtya he seems to be gradually going back to his ring identity.

But there is no denying that the laziness is still there as he tends to fight just for one round and then use a combination of antics just to ensure that his opponent does not win the rest of the fight.

If there is ever a fighter who fits the best description of a ‘one rounder’ it should be Mvula.

In almost every bout, Mvula’s display in the opening round is a marvel to watch until he drops down to the level of his opposition by fighting merely not to lose the fight instead of stamping his authority.

He has a big build and because of his age his body will continue to develop but he needs to get down to work for three minutes of every round to prove his potential.

This scribe took time to watch him working on the mitts with Mtya in training. Mtya would hold up the mitts imploring Mvula to throw a certain punch before Mvula did about five seconds later.

And at times he would simply jump up and down to buy off time while Mtya’s hand was waiting for the punch.

This was just an observation which if not corrected will curtail his ascent to the boxing pinnacle.

And if he does he will follow in the footsteps of his fellow Duncan Village brothers as one of the talents that never yielded anything significant. — Boxing Mecca