By Ron Jackson
There will be plenty of action for South African fight fans during the month of April with a number of tournaments in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. There are two tournaments on Friday 6 April, with one in East London and the other in Pretoria.
On Friday, at the Orient Theatre in East London, the veteran 37-year-old Simphiwe Vetyeka (29-4; 17), a former South African bantamweight, IBO bantamweight, and featherweight, WBC International-junior-featherweight, WBA featherweight, and WBA International featherweight champion, returns to action when he meets 33-year-old South African lightweight champion Thompson Mokwana (23-11-2; 12) for the vacant WBO All Africa lightweight title.
Also on Friday, in Menlyn, Pretoria, at the Time Square, Xolisani Ndongeni (23-0; 12) from the Eastern Cape faces Namibian Abraham Ndaendopa (16-5; 5) in a clash for the vacant WBF lightweight belt.
On the same card is a bout between Xolani Mcotheli (15-4; 11), who defends his South African junior-welterweight title against former champion 37-year-old Warren Joubert (26-5-5; 11).
On Saturday 7 April, at the Kagiso Memorial Hall, Thato Bonokoane (8-1-2; 5) from Soweto goes in against Aubrey Masamba (6-4; 1) of Malawi for the vacant WBF All Africa junior-featherweight title.
On Sunday 8 April Sydney Maluleka (17-8; 9) meets Lerato Dlamini (10-1; 6) at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park for the vacant International WBC featherweight title, and on the same day South African featherweight champion Azinga Fuzile (9-0; 4) faces Immanuel Andeleki (8-5; 2) of Namibia for the vacant IBF All Africa Continental featherweight title at the Orient Theatre in East London.
Other fights scheduled for April are Chris Thompson (5-1; 4) against Akani Phuzi (3-0; 2) on Sunday 22 April for the vacant Gauteng cruiserweight title at the Blairgowrie Recreation Centre in Randburg, and, on Saturday 28 April, in Mtubatuba, Innocent Matenga (11-4; 5) meets former South African flyweight champion Doctor Ntsele (21-10-1; 14) for the IBF All Africa bantamweight title.
On Sunday 29 April at the Gompo Hall in Duncan Village, East London, No 3 ranked mini-flyweight Ayanda Ndulane meets No 9 ranked Khanyiso Siko in a clash for the vacant Eastern Cape mini-flyweight title.