Johannesburg – Two South African boxing talents Thabiso “The Rock” Mchunu and Lunga “Pressure Cooker” Sitemela are confident about positive results ahead of their tough international assignments in Russia later this month.
Their much-anticipated outings are scheduled for March 27 in Yakaterinburg.
Mchunu will put his World Boxing Council (WBC) silver cruiserweight belt on the line against former Olympic gold medallist Evgeny Tishchenko.
The championship clash will also double as a WBC fi nal eliminator and the winner will earn a shot at the WBC cruiserweight world title held by SA-based Congolese champion Ilunga Junior Makabu.
On the main supporting bout, the unbeaten local prospect Sitemela from Western Cape will embark on a mission to dethrone Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov of his WBC international junior lightweight crown over 10 rounds.
Despite their opponents being a close book to them, the South African camps are optimistic about positive results.
Mchunu, who hails from Kwa- Zulu-Natal, said victory against Tishchenko would aff ord him the opportunity to avenge the defeat he suffered against the current reigning champion more than five years ago.
The hard-punching Makabu Jr scored an 11th round knockout victory against the skillful Mchunu in May 2015 at Durban’s International Conventional Centre.
“I’m happy to get the opportunity once more because such chances are hard to get. This is not new to me. I have been in this position before, so I need to be focused this time till the last minutes of the fi ght. If there are no injuries, I promise I will win this one. A victory will give me a chance to pay revenge to Ilunga Jr,” he said.
The 33-year-old stocky fighter, who tops the WBC cruiserweight world rankings, said they would not have taken the fight if they were not sure of victory.
His last fight was in December 2019, when he beat Denis Lebedev to capture the WBC silver cruiserweight belt. An elated Sitemela’s trainer Emil Brice said they were pumped up ahead of the clash. “We are excited about the opportunity.”
Reporting by Malibongwe Bhido.
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