Boxing supremo impressed by Chatsworth pair

STAN Christodoulou, one of South Africa’s most celebrated boxing officials, had some words of advice for Chatsworth’s Marc Subramoney, who will fight Justice Siliga over six rounds in a WBA heavyweight title eliminator in the Fox Sports Africa Boxing tournament at Sibaya Casino & Entertainment Centre on June 27.

Christodoulou, who is now the World Boxing Association’s advisor and development officer for Africa, has refereed and also judged over 200 WBA title fights worldwide. He is encouraged by the enthusiasm shown by Subramoney as he prepares for the biggest fight of his career.

“It’s easy to sign for a fight and be in the spotlight. But the talking must be done in the ring on the day of the tournament. Marc is a good lad and has worked hard to land this fight. My advice would be to keep his head, be calm and for him to work towards the big day. We all know how exciting it is to appear on television but he needs to soak in all the hype around him and concentrate on the job ahead of him,” Christodoulou said.

The experienced WBA official feels proud that Subramoney has taken on a fight sanctioned by his organisation and wished him well for the fight.

“We’d love to see Marc progress in his professional boxing career. Unlike in the years gone by heavyweights are not easy to come by these days and we need to encourage him going forward in his career,” Christodoulou, who has refereed and judged in every weight division, said.

Also on the June 27 bill at Sibaya Casino & Entertainment Centre is Subramoney’s stablemate, Jayden Matthew (29), who is a cruiserweight with five wins, two draws and a loss.

Christodoulou watched a video of Matthew in training and has been impressed with his approach and his work rate. “He has a bright future. He is a strong boxer and with time and experience he could go places,” Christodoulou said. The two big fights on the bill are for the WBA Pan African title featuring South African and Tanzanian boxers.

South Africa’s Sikho Nqothole will clash with Tanzanian Sunday Kiwale for the vacant WBA Pan Africa super-flyweight crown while Ayanda Nkosi will go up against Cosmos Cheka of Tanzania for the WBA Pan Africa lightweight title.

Tickets for the tournaments are available from Computicket outlets throughout the country.