Tete’s Belfast gambit
I am here to win against Narvaez, says ‘Last Born’
THE country’s top boxer Zolani Tete will attempt to continue with his good run when he defends his WBO bantamweight title against Argentinean veteran Omar Narvaez at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland this evening.
Tete is the best boxing ambassador in the country and so far he is the only local boxer rated in the world among the best in the small divisions.
While he has continued to beat up almost everyone put in front of him, a win over Narvaez will cement his status as the bantamweight king of the world.
There have been concerns over Tete’s preparations for the fight but ever a fitness freak, the southpaw boxer is expected to enter the ring in peak physical form as has been the norm in all his bouts.
Tete is chasing for unification bouts to clean out the division and a convincing win over Narvaez will go a long way towards fulfilling that goal.
Like Tete, the 42-year-old challenger is a left-hander but the Mdantsane boxer’s camp is not concerned about the South American posing a threat.
“Zolani always does well against left-handers like him so we are not worried about Narvaez’s stance,” said Tete's manager Mla Tengimfene.
Tete is fresh from a record-breaking feat after becoming the first boxer to register the fastest knockout in a world championship bout last November.
This when he took 11 seconds to knock out Siboniso Gonya of KwaZulu-Natal to register the first defence of his world title.
This evening he returns to the scene of his triumph and whether he will attempt to break his record and take even less time to dispatch Narvaez will be keenly watched.
But Narvaez is an old warhorse who knows how to take care of himself in the ring.
The Argentinean has won two world titles in the flyweight and junior-bantamweight divisions and he will be chasing for a third divisional world championship.
In 52 bouts he has lost just twice – to Japanese phenomenon Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire – against two draws.
In his previous attempt to win a title in the bantamweight division, Narvaez adopted a safety-first approach and never tried to win the title from Donaire.
The result was a boring fight with Narvaez slammed for turning up only for a payday instead of making a fight of it.
Back then he did not mind losing, knowing that he would go back to his junior-bantamweight title which he kept until he surrendered it to Inoue, courtesy of a body punch induced stoppage.
Besides experience, Narvaez will almost be inferior to Tete in all departments.
Tete will enjoy considerable height and reach advantage while the Mdantsane boxer will also bank on youth to carry him through.
The fight might turn into a boring spectacle as Narvaez will likely only fight for survival if he sees that his chances of winning are next to nothing.
Tete is also known for his cautious approach especially against worldclass opponents.
The fight will be on the undercard of the Donaire clash against Carl Frampton for a WBO interim featherweight title.