City boxer gets first international fight

Sport
BULAWAYO professional boxer Meluleki Ngulube is billed to trade leather in his first international fight against Japhet Utoni in Namibia on October 5

BULAWAYO professional boxer Meluleki Ngulube is billed to trade leather in his first international fight against Japhet Utoni in Namibia on October 5 in a lightweight non-title bout. Sukoluhle Mthethwa Sports Reporter South Africa-based professional boxer Ntando Sibanda is also expected to fight with Nathaniel Kamati in a non-title bantamweight division fight on October 11 in Namibia.

Former Zimbabwe boxing champion Mordecai Donga organising the fight under the Mordecai “Big Fish” Donga Boxing Stable yesterday told Southern Eye Sport the boxers have been invited to fight in Namibia.

“Sibanda and Ngulube have been invited for bouts in Namibia.

If the boxers are cleared by the boxing boards then the fights should go ahead.

We are expecting Sibanda to fight on October 11 while Ngulube’s fight is on October 5. The boxers are preparing for the fights ,” he said.

The Tshaka Youth Centre Products Sibanda aged (23) and Ngulube (20) turned professional on June 3 in 2011, but have seen little action in the sport as there is no activity in professional boxing in the country.

This prompted Sibanda to move to South Africa in a bid to get more fights.

The former Zimbabwe light and middleweight boxing champion Donga says he is confident the two boxers would do well in the fights.

“The two boxers have an advantage in that they have time on their side. They have shown that they are capable in the sport from the time they were amateur boxers until now.

What they need to do now is to stay focused.I am in constant communication with Sibanda and I have been encouraging him to work very hard in preparing for the fight. He should be in the country after making his first international victory last year.”

Donga said Ngulube and Sibanda are boxers still trying to make their mark in the professional scene.

Utoni and Kamati have three fights each.

Ngulube has one while Sibanda has two professional fights according to a boxing website boxrec.