Zolani Tete will now make the second defense of his WBO bantamweight world championship against Omar Andres Narvaez on the April 21 Frampton v Donaire bill at Belfast’s SSE Arena. Tete (26-3, 21 KO’s) had been due to defend his title against Narvaez in London this month but was forced to postpone the bout after suffering a calf injury in training but will now return to the scene of his record-breaking knockout win over Siboniso Gonya.
The thunderous punching South African won a legion of new fans back in November when he stopped countryman Gonya in just eleven seconds, setting a new world record for the fastest ever knockout recorded in a world title fight.
‘Last Born’ floored Gonya with a brutal right hook just six seconds into the first defense of his 118lbs strap, firing a warning to WBA ‘Super’ Bantamweight Champion and Belfast native Ryan Burnett in the process.
Narvaez (47-2-2, 25 KO’s) is 5-0 since a knockout loss to Naoya Inoue and recently forced the previously unbeaten Nikolai Potapov to quite in seven. He has held the WBO Flyweight and Super-Flyweight World Titles and will be aiming to become a three-weight World Champion on April 21st.
“Let’s see who the real Bantamweight king is,” said Tete. “I want to unify the division and Ryan Burnett is standing in my way. Let’s not rob the public of a brilliant fight, they want to see the best fight the best.
“Until that fight is made I will do everything that is asked of me by my team. Narvaez is a mandatory defense and I’ll be aiming to dispatch him in style to make another statement. I can’t wait to put in another explosive performance for all of my new fans in Belfast, see you in April!”
“Tete is an exceptional talent and I’m delighted that he will be showcasing his skills in Belfast once again,” said Promoter Frank Warren. “We’re bringing him back to Belfast because we want to make the Ryan Burnett unification fight.
“If Tete keeps on dominating shows in Burnett’s hometown perhaps it will lure him out of hiding. Let’s give the fans the fight that they want to see. We want to make that fight in Belfast and I’m sure it would pack out the SSE Arena.”