“Emperors Palace “DAMOCLES” - by Terry Pettifer
With the Emperors Palace blockbuster
tournament ‘DAMOCLES’ set for October
31, its rather surprising that fight buffs
throughout Gauteng have already begun
debating the wisdom of matching two of
Golden Gloves Promotions most riveting
talents; Tommy “Tommy Gun” Oosthuizen
(9-0, 7 knockouts) and Isaac “The
Golden Boy” Chilemba (13-1, 8 knockouts)
against opponents who could realistically
derail their burgeoning careers.
Publisher of African Ring magazine Jeff
Ellis said as much ahead of what threatens
to be a thunderous night of boxing,
which also features sensational professional
debutant Flo “The Demolition Man”
Simba.
“Rodney (Berman) is taking a massive
chance by putting two of his brightest
young stars; Oosthuizen and Chilemba
into fights of such magnitude, especially
in view of the opposition they’ll be facing”
said Ellis. “Mind you, he has taken calculated
risks in the past and they paid off handsomely and no doubt the CEO of
Golden Gloves has carefully weighed up
the pros and cons of his decision”.
Ellis’ consternation is, however, shared
by former ringside oracle Paul Hetz who
said, “Oosthuizen is a marvelous talent
and his forthcoming WBA Pan African
championship shootout with the SA super
middleweight champion Tshepang Mohale
should answer a lot of prevalent
questions, the most important being
whether or not Oosthuizen can take a
good crack on the whiskers. I say that because
Mohale, can really punch, as seen
by his professional ledger that reads 7-2,
6 knockouts”.
Hetz, who used to write for Boxing Express
in the mid-Eighties, added; “As for
Chilemba, let me say that he has to be
considered a rank underdog going into
this WBC International light heavyweight
title bout against the reigning champion
Doudou Ngumbu of France. Judging by
their respective records, Chilemba is clearly disadvantaged, given the fact that
he will be facing a champion with an unblemished
resume of 20-0, with 9 knockouts.
I could be wrong but I think that at least one of Berman’s two stars will be shell-shocked on the night”. That Oosthuizen’s highly experienced trainer Harold “The Hammer” Volbrecht has predicted a ‘golden’ future for his 22- year-old charge, hasn’t escaped the attention of boxing pundits country wide and trainer Manny Fernandes, who is a neutral observer to the action soon to unfold, agrees with the Hammer. “Harold is a great mentor and he’s brought this kid along in leaps and bounds. As it is, Tommy is a lethal predator and his towering height makes him very difficult to tag. I can’t see Mohale beating him. No way!”
As for the Chilemba-Ngumbu title bout,
experts seem to agree that the 23-yearold
Golden Boy will have a torrid fight on
his hands, but his up-and-coming trainer
Colin Nathan firmly believes that his slick
boxing protégé will have the speed,
power and savy with which to prevail.
“Issac is a wonderfully talented boxerfighter
and he’s getting better all the
time. Come fight night he will be psychologically
juiced up for the occasion and
Ngumbu will find that he has a real tiger
on his hands, believe me” said Nathan.
What of the much publicized Simba,
who’ll be making his debut at the catchweight
limit of 90 kgs? To quote promoter
Rodney Berman, “I can assure fight fans
that this 20-year-old newcomer has all
the necessary ingredients with which to
attain stardom. Moreover, as a student at
university, he has the intelligence and
presence of mind to know that boxing is
a progressively demanding sport, and he
has structured his thinking along the correct
lines, which I have to believe will see
him triumph at the highest level of his
profession. Needless to say, though, that
will take time and we won’t be rushing
him before he’s equipped to handle the
best there is”.
COULD THIS BE THE ‘LAST CHANCE SALOON’ FOR MARALI?
The saying goes that sometime in life
everyone encounters what is termed a
‘last chance saloon’ and while this adage
generally applies to those who require a
final opportunity at making good, the
portents could well be the same for former
four-time world champion Zolani
“The Untouchable” Marali (20-3, 13
knockouts) ahead of his vacant IBO
lightweight title bout against the unbeaten
Mlungisi “The Shark” Dlamini
(20-0, 9 knockouts) on October 31 at
Emperors Palace.
Knocked off his IBO junior lightweight
perch by Korea’s Ji Hoon Kim at the
same venue recently, after having built
up a substantial points lead, Marali must
know that this is his final chance of attaining
international stardom in what
has often been called the “ Sour Art”.
And insofar as the 32-year-old Marali is
concerned, nothing could be quite as
sour as losing to the multi-skilled
Dlamini.
“Zolani had been battling with his weight prior to his last fight and I believe that he’ll resurrect his career now that he’s moved up to lightweight” said trainer Colin Nathan.
The 10th round knockout defeat Marali
sustained at the hands of Kim, however,
reverberated around the fistic world and
methinks nothing less than a comprehensive
victory would dispel the notion
that the Untouchable is a spent force.
“Boxing is one of the most unforgiving
sports in the world and Marali should realize
that there’ll be no excuses if he fails
against Dlamini” said manager Brian
Mitchell.
And fail he may if Dlamini’s trainer
Warren Hulley has his way. “Mlungisi is a
naturally gifted athlete and you haven’t
begun to see his true worth as a fighter” said Hulley. “We certainly wouldn’t have
signed to fight Marali if we thought
Dlamini was not going to win”.
Golden Gloves Promoter Rodney Berman anticipates a ‘war’ on the night and the tournament banner; ‘DAMOCLES’ will definitely be applicable to one of the two fighters on the night.
A consensus of expert opinion, realized after polling 10 analysts, leans heavily in favour of Dlamini, whose rapid-fire combinations and astute boxing skills have eye-catching value throughout South Africa.
Trainer Manny Fernandes strongly fancies
Dlamini to triumph on the night, as
do a number of other prominent field
personalities.
Not that Marali’s trainer Colin Nathan hasn’t impressed upon his charge the need to be at his very best when facing the younger Dlamini. “Zolani knows Dlamini fairly well and we’ve fashioned a definite battle strategy for this fight, although I’m not prepared to divulge the mechanics involved” said Nathan.