‘Monster’ fight in the offing for title holder

IT STARTED way back in 2014 when Zolani Tete won his first world title and now his possible clash against Japanese sensation, Naoya Inoue is just a bout away.

That is if the Japanese follows on up on his challenge and backs the bravado he displayed after blasting French challenger Yoann Boyeaux away in what he claimed was his last bout at junior bantamweight level on New Year’s Eve.

The 24-year-old unbeaten Japanese nicknamed “Monster” announced that he would be vacating his WBO junior bantamweight crown to move up to bantamweight and challenge Tete for the version of the title.

The announcement was received with mixed reaction by Tete’s fans, with some, especially those at home, expressing concern for the Mdantsane star to face such a dangerous boxer while those abroad felt the fight would offer Tete an opportunity to finally claim the scalp of a well-known foe.

Tete himself immediately accepted the challenge declaring that Inoue was welcome to try his luck against him.

“These are the kind of fights I want to engage in so Mr Inoue is highly welcome,” Tete wrote on his Twitter account.

The banter dates back four years ago after Tete had beaten Inoue’s compatriot Teiru Kinoshita to win the IBF junior bantamweight title in Japan.

Inoue and Tete swapped punches on social media but the fight never came to fruition.

Since then the pair has taken divergent routes with Tete going on to win the WBO bantamweight crown after posting a shutout over Filipino Arthur Villanueva, while Inoue continued with his brilliant run with a series of eye-catching performances.

Tete will be grilled about his readiness for Inoue when he defends his WBO crown against Argentinean veteran Omar Narvaez, who was destroyed by the Japanese in three one-sided rounds to surrender his WBO junior bantamweight title way back on New Year’s Eve 2015.

Tete only needs to get past Narvaez and the Inoue clash will most likely happen.

The Mdantsane southpaw has indicated willingness to travel to Japan to make the fight happen although his English promoter Frank Warren will most likely put up a financial fight to stage it in England.

“We are ready to fight Inoue anywhere,” said Tete’s manager Mla Tengimfene.

Tete has three losses, while Inoue has knocked out all 15 except two of his opponents.