No contender for the SA junior welterweight belt will prevent Sibusiso Zingange from becoming the national champion, warns his manager Vus’Umuzi Malinga.
The No 2 contender’s fight against top-rated Aphiwe Mboyiya for that belt was cancelled three times, leaving the camps of the two boxers convinced the belt is jinxed.
It remained without a champion since April 2025 when Ntethelelo Nkosi vacated it to focus on the inaugural WBC Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia, where he lost in the semifinals.
In the meantime, Zingange will protect his rating by engaging in a 10-rounder against Malawian Hannock Phiri at Silver Lakes Farm Hotel in Pretoria on February 28.
Their international fight will form part of the tournament to be organised by promoter Terry Anne Hart of Fighters Club Promotions.
Trained by Vus’Umuzi’s older brothers – Patrick and Peter – Zingange last fought on March 25 last year. The former SA lightweight champion, whose reign was cut short by a shoulder dislocation during a title defence in 2022, defeated Talent Baloyi in a non-title fight.
Zingange, a personal trainer at his Eastside Boxing and Fitness Gym at East Rand Mall, has 19 wins, with five knockouts, against eight losses and two draws.
Phiri, from Blantyre, boasts eight KOs in nine wins against five defeats and two draws. He has been stopped three times.
Malinga views the upcoming fight as a preparation for the vacant SA title, and his work ethic will take him wherever he wants to go as a fighter. “He is the most dedicated boxer I’ve ever worked with since I began managing fighters,” he said.
“I see no contender for the junior welterweight title standing before him; you can [even] bring Ntethelelo, it does not matter.”
Hart’s tournament will be headlined by Smangele “Smash” Hadebe in the defence of her WBO Africa flyweight belt against Sibulele “Lova” Soboois.
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