By Ron Jackson
Rodney Berman of Golden Gloves Promotions presents a Box and Dine evening with two titles on the line, and three competitive bouts on the undercard at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park, South Africa on Friday night. The tournament will be televised on SS 9 from 19:00 to 23:00.
In the main bout of the evening, South African super middleweight champion Rowan Campbell from Gauteng defends his IBO All-Africa super middleweight title against the more experienced Yanga Phetani of Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape.
Campbell (9-0, 6 KOs) who fights out of the Smiths Gym in Cedar Square, Sandton, made his pro debut in December 2016 and captured the vacant South African super middleweight title with a 12 round unanimous points decision over Renson Hobyani on August 10 last year at Emperors Palace.
In his next fight, in February this year he won the vacant IBO All-Africa title with a hard earned ten round decision over Alex Kabangu from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Hobyani who has been fighting as pro since October 2005 has compiled a record of 14-2-1, 4 KOs.
The only blots on his record have been a six round draw against Lelethu Magwiga and losses to Nkululeko Mhlongo (tko 3) in a challenge for the South African junior-middleweight title and Andile Mtungwa (tko 2).
On February 12, 2017 he was stopped in the sixth round by Barend van Rooyen in a clash for the vacant South African middleweight title. However, the result was subsequently changed to a no contest by Boxing South Africa after Van Rooyen failed a test for a banned substance.
In the second title bout on the bill, three fight novice Boyd Allen (3-0, 3 KOs) defends his WBA Pan African junior-middleweight title, that he won in his third fight with an eleventh round stoppage win over John Bopape in March this year.
The more experienced Brandon Thysse (10-1-1, 9 KOs) is coming off a closely fought split decision draw against five fight novice Linda Ntshingila, for the vacant Gauteng junior-middleweight title.
However, Boxing SA failed to apply the rule that a contest for a vacant title cannot end in a draw.
In terms of the Act in a championship bout for a vacant title, each judge shall nominate a winner and the winner of the bout shall be the boxer nominated as the winner by the majority vote of the judges.
The match between Ricardo Malajika and Arnel Lubisi has been taken off the bill after Malajika was injured in a car accident.
OTHER BOUTS
Junior-middleweight: 4 rounds, Thulane Mdluli (debut) vs. Aidan Quin (debut); Junior-middleweight: Sheldon Schultz (3-2, 3 KOs) vs. Tristan Truter 5-1, 3 KOs) ; Junior-middleweight: Wynand Mulder 4-7-1, 4 KOs) vs. Roarke Knapp 7-1, 6 KOs).