Johannesburg – Top boxing trainer Mzamo “Chief” Njekanye predicts his charge Azinga “Golden Boy” Fuzile will stamp his authority as a world-class fighter when he makes his US debut.
Fuzile, who reunited with his childhood trainer early this year, will meet Britain’s Martin Ward for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightweight elimination bout on May 29 in Las Vegas. The two adversaries will be in opposite corners for the Eddie Hearn showpiece that is headlined by America’s up-coming boxer Davin Haney.
The unbeaten Haney will put his World Boxing Council junior lightweight belt on the line against Venezuelan Jorge Linares.
Njekanye, from East London in the Eastern Cape, said the fight means a lot to them and victory was important. To show how serious they are, the Duncan Village-based camp is already hard at training preparing the former Commonwealth super featherweight titleholder.
“This fight brings us a step closer to a shot at the world title. “We are grinding hard to be in shape. We are treating it as a world title fight. It is a big step for my fighter and he has to prove himself that he’s the best in his class.
“It is every boxer’s dream to showcase their talent on such a big stage in Las Vegas. At his level, I believe Azinga is ready to fight anywhere in the world and bring the glory home,” said Njekanye.
This would be Fuzile’s second IBF elimination bout. In his first attempt, he suffered a controversial eight-round technical knockout at the hands of Tajikistani Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in September 2019.
The winner between Fuzile and Ward will fight against whoever wins between Rakhimov and Japan’s Kenichi Ogawa.
By Malibongwe Bhido.
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