Mathebula to face Martinez in title fight
JEFFREY “The Mongoose” Mathebula — the former International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Council world champion — will get another crack at the IBF junior featherweight throne on December 21 in Spain, promoter Branco Milenkovic has confirmed.
Milenkovic, who has promoted Mathebula for seven years, said his charge will challenge IBF junior featherweight Kiko “Le Sensacion” Martinez in a fight that will be Mathebula’s eighth to be sanctioned by the sanctioning body.
“Loyalty pays,” said Milenkovic yesterday. The only local promoter to have controlled five IBF world champions at the same time, Milenkovic — who has been involved in 64 IBF championships in the past six years — described the coming bout between Mathebula and Martinez as being a perfect match based on their fight records.
They both have had 33 fights and lost four times. “The only difference is that Mathebula has had two draws,” said Milenkovic.
Mathebula, the former Olympian from Malamulele in Limpopo, has 27 wins and six clean knockouts from 14 short-route wins, while Martinez, a three-time European champion from Spain, also has six knockouts in 21 stoppage victories from 29 wins.
Mathebula is one of the few local fighters to have been involved in two world title unification fights.
The first was on April 30 2009 against Celestino Caballero for the IBF and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles in Panama. Mathebula lost the fight in a dubious split points decision which was described by Panamanian media as a robbery.
The other unification bout was on August 7 last year in Los Angeles against pound-for-pound Nonito Donaire for the IBF and World Boxing Organisation belts.
That fight was broadcast by HBO and Mathebula lost on points. He fought gallantly considering that he finished it with a broken jaw.
Mathebula and Martinez both share one identical name in their records and that is Takalani “The Panther” Ndlovu.
Ndlovu outpointed the Spaniard at the Nasrec Arena in an IBF junior featherweight title eliminator that was staged by Milenkovic on September 25 2009.
Mathebula fought Ndlovu three times, losing their first meeting via a split points decision in Brakpan on September 1 2010.
They met again on March 24 last year and Mathebula avenged that loss with the same outcome — a split points decision.
Milenkovic matched them for the third time on March 23 and Mathebula was declared the winner by a unanimous points decision to earn the mandatory status to challenge the Spaniard.
Milenkovic said the three fights between Mathebula and Ndlovu, which produced controversial results, will be remembered for many years to come.
Martinez won the IBF title with a sixth-round stoppage over Colombian Jhonatan “Momo” Romero in New Jersey on August 17. The fight against Mathebula will be Martinez’s first at home since 2011.