Bulana vows to stop SA boxing titles merry-go-round
Scenery Park boxer wants to bring respectability back to national junior lightweight division
Khanyile Bulana wants to bring some respectability back to the SA junior lightweight title and stop its merry-go-round status.
The Scenery Park boxer was speaking ahead of his title clash against defending champion Lunga Sitemela, whom he faces at Sunningdale Sports Complex in Cape Town on Friday evening.
The 31-year-old challenger will chase a second national title, having already reigned as the featherweight champion before moving up a division.
However, of concern to him is the trend of the title moving from one boxer to another, with Phila Mpontshane the last fighter to retain the crown in 2019.
Even Mpontshane’s title reign was not without hiccups as his victory over Koos Sibiya was frowned upon, with Boxing SA ordering a rematch after Sibiya filed a complaint.
Since then, Mpontshane has surrendered the title to Sibusiso Zingange, who handed it over to Sitemela in his first defence.
Bulana is confident Sitemela will also pass it on to him but believes that it will be the last time the crown rides the merrygo-round.
“It is about time this title is respected again and stops being treated like this,” Bulana’s trainer, Kholisile “KC” Cengani, said.
“After we take it from Sitemela we will make sure that we keep it for good because this is one of the more respectable belts in SA boxing history.”
Indeed, the SA junior lightweight title has carved a niche in the game, having been held by legendary boxers such as Nkosana “Happyboy” Mgxaji, who is credited with revolutionising the sport in Mdantsane and Duncan Village, which led to a boxing boom.
Brian Mitchell also used the title to sharpen his skills before going on to win the WBA world crown in 1986, defending it 12 times.
Mitchell defended the SA title against Jacob Morake and tragedy struck when Morake later died of injuries suffered in the fight in 1985.
Other boxers who used the title as a launch pad to world title success include Qumbuborn and Cape Town-based Mzonke Fana, who later went on to win the IBF title, and Malcolm Klassen, who also claimed the IBF world crown.
Though Bulana failed in his bid to win a world title after he was stopped in one round by Italian Michael Magnesi for the IBO crown in Italy in April 2021, he is still hoping to use the national belt as a springboard to bigger fights.
“I do not want to talk about Bulana’s loss to Magnesi because I was not in his corner,” Cengani said.
Bulana’s loss to Magnesi remains the lone blemish in his fight record of 13 bouts. He has scored eight stoppages.
Sitemela, of Dordrecht but based in Cape Town, also sports a single loss in 15 bouts.