Ricardo Malajika from the South last fought on November 30, 2019, against a stubborn Mnqobi Mkhize, edging him with a TKO to the delight of his trainer/manager, Anton Gilmore from Box Office.
His record up to date reads six bouts, three KOs, three TKOs and one unanimous decision.
Still awaiting the approval of Boxing South Africa (BSA), the country’s official board, he is already hard at training.
“As I can’t train at my gymnasium, Southern Suburbs Recreational Centre, we had to find a way to train him and get him fit before his next fight,” said Gilmore.
Apart from having to make his own gymnasium at home, Malajika and Gilmore are hard at work to be in the right position if fights are approved.
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According to well-known promotor and organiser Jeff Ellis, it is a question of how boxing will return to action and not when.
“Golden Gloves are planning to stage a two-evening boxing tournament at Emperors Palace under lockdown procedures announced by the government,” said Ellis.
“We will have two fight nights, as we are only allowed to have four bouts per evening and so many people attending per evening.”
The tournaments are set to take place over two evenings in September at Emperors Palace with only the fighters, their corners and other essential personnel present, pending approval from BSA.
Top-ranking Malajika, junior bantam weight, will appear in one of those evenings and is set to be the main drawing card.
On September 1, the card will be headlined by 6-0 African Boxing Union (ABU) All-Africa champion Ricardo Malajika.
He would have taken on Jonas Sultan from the Philippines before the pandemic halted all sporting activities.
He will now take on the 13-2 Sikho Nqothole over 10 rounds for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) Pan African junior bantamweight crown.
Nqothole has the held the same Pan African belt before and is the more experienced of the two, having gone the 12-round distance twice.
He has nine knockouts, two stoppages in a row, winning the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) All-Africa title in his last bout against Jemsi Kibazange.
His trainer, Alan Toweel, said, “I think Sikho has got this one, I really believe it. Malajika is quick, he is flashy but the real Sikho has not come out yet. I think it will be an exciting fight between a southpaw and a good orthodox boxer, but Sikho has the style to beat him.”
In the main supporting bout, 8-2 Tristan Truter will meet 9-1-1 Roarke Knapp over eight rounds for the third place of the 4@War junior middleweight tournament.
The second leg of the 4@War tournament takes place on September 2 at Emperors Palace.
In the final of the 4@War junior middleweight tournament, Boyd Allen defends his WBA Pan African junior middleweight title against Brandon Thysse over 12 rounds.
Allen won the previous fight and the finals should be a war of note.The cruiserweight series will also be launched that will see Keaton Gomes in a rematch with Fattz Lebo Mashitoa, while the other bout will be between Chris Thompson and Akani Phuzi.All these bouts are awaiting the official approval of BSA and will be officially announced once clarified.
