Super 4 showdown sets tongues wagging
Sinyabi reckons Vetyeka will have the upper hand SA faces boxing decline, report suggests
THE Featherweight Super 4 which will pit four top boxers in the land against each is ruffling feathers in boxing circles with fans divided on who will emerge triumphant.
The series punches off at Emperors Palace on October 21 with the first semifinal matching Azinga “Golden Boy” Fuzile against international-acclaimed Limpopo-born Tshifhiwa “Atomic Spider” Munyai.
The other semifinal berth will see veteran Simpiwe “V12” Vetyeka up against boxing upstart Lerato Dlamini.
Already the social media is abuzz with excitement with fans consulting their crystal balls to find out who will be the last man standing.
One such interested observer is former SA featherweight and junior featherweight champion Macbute Sinyabi who would have been one of the participants had he not been retired by Fuzile last year.
Sinyabi was sensationally dethroned of his SA featherweight title by the then four fight novice Fuzile in one of the boxing upsets in the land last year.
Although he is still bitter for not being part of the groundbreaking event, Sinyabi is happy about the organisation of the S4 saying it is a shot in the arm for boxing.
“I am very excited about the S4 and I think it is good for boxing,” he said.
But who is he picking to go all the way?
“Eish that is a tough question because the answer hinges on many things,” he says.
“If it were judged by pure boxing ability with no outside factors I would say V12 and Munyai will contest the finals.”
Sinyabi is basing his predictions on the wealth of experience the two boxers command compared to their competitors.
Vetyeka is a three-time world champion having won the WBA featherweight super title with a six rounds annihilation of Indonesian legend Chris John.
And that to Sinyabi will put Vetyeka in good stead to handle anything the other three contestants dish out.
Munyai’s reign as a Commonwealth champion is also a deciding factor to Sinyabi.
This even though the Limpopo boxer won the title in the bantamweight division in which he longer campaigns.
“Munyai is smart but he has no power and I think his experience will count in this series.”
How about Fuzile who dethroned him?
“Look, Azinga is a rare breed because he is smart and he is also committed which is rare in boxing for someone to have all of those attributes,” he says.
“He is young, loyal to his craft but most of all he is hungry for success. He goes into this series armed with awkwardness and if Munyai makes the mistake of overlooking him he will find out the hard way just like I did.”
Dlamini is the only contestant which Sinyabi does not rate much, describing him as a fighter with limited thinking ability.
“He is not a smart boxer. I beat him twice in the amateurs so I know his boxing ability and to me he has not changed that much in the professionals.”
Sinyabi, whose crippling power left nine of his challengers for the national junior featherweight title seeing the stars, says the S4 does not have a contestant with a one hitterquitter.
“No one can turn the lights out on anyone so in that way it will be a battle of the brains. That is why I think V12 will emerge the winner.’’
Is Vetyeka not past his sell-by date at 37 years old?
“I do not think so. You see V12 is not confused but convinced because he is a family man now. He knows what is at stake and he is fighting for his wife and kids so you can expect the best Vetyeka ever.” — Boxing Mecca THE report presented at the WBC Convention currently underway in Baku, Azerbaijan has painted a bleak future for SA boxing.
Presented by the recognised world boxing record keeper boxrec.com, the report showed an alarming decline in boxing activity in SA and the US in the last 36 years.
“While other countries have shown significant boxing growth between 1980 to 2016, it is however worrying that it has been the other way round in SA and the US,” boxrec.com directors John and Marina Sheppard said.
Countries which showed an increase in shows in the period include Mexico, UK, China and Russia.
SA promoter Rodney Berman who is at the convention lamented the decrease in the number of shows held in SA.
“There are a number of factors for this but the regulator body must also look at this with a critical eye because it is not good for our sport,” he said.
Berman has already started to kick boxing into action having scheduled a blockbuster show at Emperors Palace in three week’s time.
The show will feature the Featherweight Super 4 for which he attended the Baku gathering to be endorsed by the WBC.
This when two East London boxers Simpiwe Vetyeka and Azinga Fuzile will come up against Tshifhiwa Munyai of Limpopo and Free State’s Lerato Dlamini respectively.
Armed with his SuperSport television backing, Berman has been blazing the trail in local boxing becoming the most active promoter.
While his shows are mostly limited at Emperors Palace where he commands a huge audience backed by the pay channel, it has not been as rosy for his counterparts who are struggling to get television backing owing to the calamities at the SABC.
BSA chief executive Tsholofelo Lejaka said the public broadcaster had promised to return to boxing by inviting tenders from promoters last September.
But after promoters submitted their application the public broadcaster is yet to show an improvement in the airing of tournaments.
This has left SuperSport enjoying a monopoly of boxing broadcasting having even given coverage to some East London tournaments such as the Heritage month show organised by Xaba Promotions and Events.
Berman has already convinced the WBC to put its silver title belt at stake for the winners of the S4 scheduled to fight in February.
“The WBC is doing its best to help boxing development in SA and we are proud to be working with president Mauricio Sulaiman,” he said from Baku. — Boxing Mecca