Zolani gets massive Mayweather boost for series
The decision by Zolani Tete management to revamp his technical team has been revisited and the boxer will train in the US for four weeks.
Tete, who is one of the world champions to officially be unveiled as participants of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) will join revered trainer Floyd Mayweather Senior.
The boxer’s manager, Mla Tengimfene, confirmed that the boxer would be under Mayweather’s tutelage to prepare for the WBSS, as he will be up against the best in the bantamweight division.
The draw for the series will be conducted in Moscow, Russia on July 22.
The boosting of Tete’s technical team is not new, but it invoked infighting with chief trainer Loyiso Mtya when it was first revealed in April.
This after Tete had won the WBO bantamweight title by beating Filipino, Arthur Villanueva.
Mtya insisted that the issue was never discussed with him, with Tengimfene arguing to the contrary.
Peeved by the move, Mtya stayed away from the training, leading to him being left behind in Tete’s next fight when he needed 11 seconds to knock out KwaZulu-Natal’s Siboniso Gonya to register the first defence of the title.
However, the pair eventually smoked the peace pipe, with Mtya returning to training Tete for his next fight against Argentinean Omar Narvaez.
While there was a furore with the move to boost Tete’s technical team, this time all seems to be well within the camp.
Tengimfene confirmed that the whole technical team led by Mtya and assistant trainer Mhikiza Myekeni will be part of the entourage to the USA.
“Like I said before, the goal here is to make Zolani the best he can be,” he said.
“This why we took this decision to enlist the services of Mayweather Senior, and Zolani’s current technical team will be part of the move.”
The selection of Mayweather Snr came as a surprise, although the veteran trainer is father to the universally recognised best fighter in the world, Floyd Mayweather jnr.
The senior is credited for his son’s defensive genius as well as an incredible boxing IQ, which has seen him winning all of his 50 professional fights, while collecting a plethora of world title belts along the way.
However, when a South African boxer, Xolisani “Nomeva” Ndongeni joined the Mayweather Boxing Club it did not yield positive results as he never got a fight.
Tengimfene said the situation of Ndongeni and Tete is not the same, as Tete will go train there for a fight that has already been decided.
An international agent, who wanted to remain anonymous, confirmed that he played a role in uniting the Tete team with Mayweather Snr.
Mayweather and his younger brother Jeff are currently in Malaysia, where his other charge, Mohammad Waseem, will face SA boxer Moruti Mthalane for the IBF flyweight title on Sunday. After the July 22 draw, the first bout is expected to punch off in September, with Tete, who is one of the seeded boxers, likely to face late entrant Juan Carlos Payano of the Dominican Republic.
Payano is already Tete’s mandatory for his WBO title.
Other boxers in the series include WBA champion Ryan Burnett, IBF king Emmanuel Rodriguez, his mandatory Jason Moloney, and Filipino veteran Nonito Donaire.