Mthalane defeat hurts SA boxing
The fight game in this country isn’t what it once was
● A lively Sunny Edwards relieved Moruti Mthalane of his IBF flyweight crown in London on Friday, leaving SA without a bona fide world boxing champion.
It’s arguable that Father Time didn’t have much say in the outcome of this contest, with Edwards proving too quick for the 38-yearold Mthalane to win a unanimous decision.
The scorecards ranged from 115-113 to a shutout 120-108.
“We lost,” trainer-manager Colin Nathan said yesterday. “I had it seven rounds to five against us. The 120-108 card, I don’t know how they got that.”
It’s likely that the Mthalane of 10 years ago would have struggled with the Englishman’s style, but at his age, and without a rematch clause to secure an immediate shot, he surely needs to consider retirement.
“I don’t think we should make a decision now,” Nathan said.
But Mthalane, who first won the IBF strap in 2009, isn’t tied to the ring. He enjoys spending time on his farm in KwaZulu-Natal, on a plot of land that has been in his family for generations and had been looking forward to heading back there after the fight.
“I love farming,” Mthalane had recently
‘I’m a future big farmer. When I have some money then I’ll add to my herd’
said. “I’m a future big farmer. I can’t wait to come back from overseas, have some money and then I’ll add to my herd.”
Mthalane’s removal from the throne — the Ring magazine had ranked him the world’s No1 flyweight — leaves a void in SA boxing.
Combining his two reigns as IBF champion, from 2009 to 2014 and then from 2018 until two days ago, he was the country’s longestserving world champion, a feat that all the other compatriot titleholders of this millennium have failed to get close to.
Stablemate Hekkie Budler managed four successful defences before winning a second shot later, and Zolani Tete three.
SA boxing had four world champions in the 1980s, with Brian Mitchell making 12 successful defences into the early 1990s.
Another nine boxers won genuine world titles in the 1990s, headed by Vuyani Bungu (13 defences), Welcome Ncita (seven), Phillip Holiday (six) and Mbulelo Botile and Zolani Petelo (five each).
In the 2000s 10 new boxers won bona fide titles, and in the 2010s that number dropped to seven, excluding Mthalane’s second reign.
Longevity has become an issue in SA boxing, which is also struggling with lack of TV time and promoters willing or able to stage top-dollar world title bouts.
Thabiso Mchunu is second in line for Johannesburg-based Junior Makabu’s WBC cruiserweight belt, but what are the odds of that fight taking place in SA?
The same questions can be asked of contenders like Azinga Fuzile and Kevin Lerena.
Mthalane last defended his IBF belt in SA in March 2011, and his bout against Edwards wasn’t televised, forcing die-hard fans to turn to streaming platforms.
SA boxing isn’t what it once was.