Mukala knows the drill

PATRICK Mukala has gone through what his manager, Ashley Fourie, says is a completely new drill as he prepared for his WBA

Pan African super-middleweight title fight against Ibrahim

Tamba on the

Fox Sports Africa

Boxing tournament at the

Royal Swazi Spa on Friday.

“For Patrick it’s a crucial fight. He knows it and we talked about after signing contracts. Hence we changed the drill while preparing for his title defence and I believe he will be sharper, quicker, leaner and super-fit for 12 rounds,” Fourie said from Johannesburg. Fourie added that his fighter has been promised a bigger fight if he defends his crown in Mbabane this week.

“We are taking things step by step and are guided by Fox Sports African Boxing as we go along. W e were told two more defences and there would be an international title fight in the pipeline. That’s the goal at the moment

Fourie said.

Mukala, who hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo but who now lives in Johannesburg, first won the WBA Pan African title when he beat South Africa’s Daniel Lartey on a TKO in Kempton Park in March 2017 and retained the crown with another TKO win over Botswana’s Daniel Wanyonyi at the Grand Palm Hotel Casino and Conference Centre in Gaborone in August last year.

Fourie says Mukala was unwanted by many gymnasiums until he came to him four years ago and the 24-year-old has since shown amazing promise and progressed as a professional. Mukala’s only loss in his 10fight professional record came in October last year in a nontitle fight against Ryno Liebenberg in Kempton Park.

“We know little of Tamba,” for Patrick,” Fourie said. “The videos that we saw of him do not reveal a lot but I think Patrick has gone all the way to prepare for any eventualities.

“Patrick does not look to go all the way in his fights. He loves to knock out his opponent and I’m confident he will do the same at the Royal Swazi Spa.”

In his 10-fight record Mukala has gone 38 rounds and 80 percent of his wins have come via knockouts.

Meanwhile Tamba may have had many more fights than the Johannesburg-based Mukala – 22 wins, nine losses and a draw – but he has been unsuccessful in landing a significant title so far in his career. He fought three times for African titles and lost all three.

After some uncertainty early this week, Anthony Jarmann quickly re-settled in his training schedule and is looking forward to taking on Salehe Mkalekwa of Tanzania for the vacant WBA Pan African super-welterweight crown.

The Namibian was to have fought another Tanzanian, Gutram Ngoya, but he disappeared from his country only for the promoter, Barry Lambert, to find out that he was on his way to Australia for another fight.

Flabbergasted by the arrogance of the boxer has led Lambert to complain to the Tanzanian authorities and the WBA officials as Ngoya had signed contracts over two months ago.

“It’s all in order now – I’m fine with my new opponent. I just want to fight and win back my title,” Jarmann said from Namibia. “It’ll be tough but every fight from here on will be tough and I’m ready for a real battle.” Jarmann won the WBA Pan African title against George Mduli also of Namibia on a unanimous decision in March 2017 and defended it against Cristiano Ndombassy with a knockout in May last year. However he lost it against Hassan Mwakinyo of Botswana in August 2017.

The loss came just a week after he had lost his younger brother.