This cruiserweight will get fans salivating for thriller

Thabiso Mchunu and Thomas Oosthuizen may no longer carry expectations to conquer the world but their crossroads cruiserweight clash on September 1 has left fans so stoked that even organisers may soon put up a sold out sign.

The clash at Emperors Palace was received warmly long before Mchunu surmounted the stumbling block that was Latvian Ricards Bolotniks two months ago.

This when the KwaZulu-Natal-born boxer scored an upper- cut induced six rounds stoppage win to rubber- stamp the September 1 date.

While the bout against Bolotniks was in progress, boxing fans were already filling in the prediction columns for the Mchunu-Oosthuizen clash.

And since the June fight, Golden Gloves Promotions (GGP) have been inundated with ticket requests. GGP boss Rodney Berman said the fans response to the fight was phenomenal. “The interest in this fight is overwhelming and if people wait until the last days they may miss out.”

This is not really surprising given the fans both boxers command not only at Emperors Palace but in the country as a whole. In fact, this bout came to fruition due to demands by fans after GGP ran a poll about what fans wanted to see most.

And now the interest the bout has invoked is in tandem with the likes of Gennady Golovkin vs Saul Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua who often sell out fight venues within hours.

There are several storylines in this contrasting styles matchup but the most obvious one is the fact that both boxers have never lost against a SA-born opponent. This even though Mchunu suffered one of his four losses in 23 bouts to SA-based DRC’s Ilunga Makabu, another boxer whose development can be traced to the doors of GGP.

While Mchunu has been the most active although his status as world-class fighter is under serious threat, it is Oosthuizen’s ledger that catches the eye as the lanky southpaw has lost just once in 30 bouts.

Mchunu may claim better opposition faced which include recently world unified cruiserweight king Aleksandr Uysk who stopped him in nine rounds in a WBO title challenge. But the latest dominance of the Ukrainian at the world stage has since made Mchunu’s loss look better especially as he held his own for nine rounds.

Berman is planning to dangle a carrot for the winner but spectators will be the real winners here. This after GGP added two intriguing bouts featuring Ryno Liebenberg against Alfonso Tissen in a light-heavyweight scrap and Lusanda Komanisi opposing Michael Mokoena in a lightweight bout.