OUTSIDE JUDGES FOR BUDLER, KHONCO SCRAP
NEITHER Hekkie “Hexecutioner ” Budler nor Simpiwe “Chain Reaction” Khonco will enjoy an unfair advantage over the other when they finally meet next week.
The IBO and WBA championship committees have made sure of this by deciding that all three judges for the September 19 bout at Emperor’s Palace are from neutral countries.
Their fight will headline Golden Gloves’ “Uncivil War” tournament.
IBO president Edward Levine refused to reveal the names of the three judges, saying only: “All judges are from foreign countries. I am not at liberty to announce them. I am sure Golden Gloves will do so shortly.”
Levine also refused to reveal the referee for this eagerly-waited bout, saying only that he “will be a South African”.
But a source within Golden Gloves told Sowetan yesterday that veteran referee Stan Christodoulou will officiate the fight, while Jean Louis Legland (France), Juan Manuel Garcia Reyes (Spain) and Leszek Jankowiak (Poland) will be the judges.
Budler is the defending IBO and WBA minimumweight champion.
While the IBO strap will be up for grabs for the ninth time, Budler will be bidding for the fourth defence of the WBA belt against Khonco, who has been presented with a golden opportunity to become an overnight star.
The former SA and current IBO Intercontinental champion will be involved in his first international bout since he fought his first professional fight in 2007. Budler – a pressure cooker fighter – has 28 wins against a single loss.
Khonco, who is an explosive fighter, has lost four of his 19 bouts. Three of those defeats were stoppages.
Levine confirmed that 77-year-old Johannesburg-based Len Hunt will be the fight supervisor.
Hunt, a former referee and judge, has served the IBO as fight supervisor in Africa since 2008.