Ludumo Lamati ready to do the ‘business’ in fight for WBC title

Ludumo “9mm” Lamati will have to haul out his high-calibre weapons when he challenges the Englishman Nick Ball for the World Boxing Council (WBC) silver featherweight title at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Saturday night.

The fight is the main supporting bout to the shootout for the IBF featherweight crown between champion Luis Alberto Lopez of Mexico and Irishman Michael Conlan, a joint collaboration staged by Conlan Promotions, Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Queensbury.

There is an old saying in boxing “someone’s 0 has to go” and barring a draw, this will be the case as two unbeaten fighters Lamati (21-0-1 – 11 knockouts), and Ball (17-0-10 kos) pit their skills against one another.

Step up in class

The 31-year-old former IBO and IBF Inter-Continental champion from the Eastern Cape, promoted by the Boxing5 consortium and part of the fledgling No Doubt Management group, has predominantly fought as a junior featherweight (super-bantamweight) and faces a big step up in class in the hostile Belfast cauldron.

Lamati, trained by the astute former Olympian Phumzile “Kid Chocolate” Matyhila, made a seamless transition to featherweight in November last year when he knocked out the Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo in four rounds, and doesn’t command a rating as yet in that division.

Ball, 25, by contrast, has defended the silver belt twice since capturing the vacant strap in April 2022 and is rated fourth by the WBC, eighth by the WBO and 13th by the IBO.

‘I’ll do the business’

At the pre-fight press conference in Belfast this week, Lamati came across as calm and self-assured, offering short, blunt answers to the foreign boxing media regarding the fight.

“He’s strong, he’s tough, but I’m ready for whatever he brings to the ring. I’ll do the business on the night,” said Lamati. “I am more experienced, been pushed to the limits, and have a height and reach advantage. He (Ball) is a come-forward fighter. If he’s going to bully me, I deserve that in the ring because I let him.”

Larry Wainstein, head of Boxing5, confirmed that there are various contracts in place with signed guarantees of future fights should Lamati prevail and the door will also be flung open to securing a high ranking in the major sanctioning bodies.