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Johannesburg - Bongani Mahlangu will have a tough test when he puts his SA junior featherweight title on the line against Ludumo Lamati at the Orient Theatre in East London on Sunday afternoon.
The Boipatong, Gauteng, athlete will be fighting before a hostile Eastern Cape crowd that will be rooting for their idol Lamati to be crowned the new king.
Call him an old horse, but Mahlangu, who is 37, will rely on vast experience to do the trick for him. He has had 20 wins and six defeats from 26 outings.
He beat Mfusi Maxhayi on points to win the crown at the Orient Theatre in September 2015.
His last defence was a points victory over Bonakele Bikitsha in June last year.
Freedom celebrations
Lamati, a novice of 10 wins and a draw in 11 outings, who was trained by the late Nick “Mathakathi” Durandt, sees an opportunity to put himself in the big leagues as a national titleholder.
He beat Innocent Mantengu on points at the Mdantsane Indoor Centre last December to win the African Boxing Union super bantamweight title.
The fights will be the top liner of Xaba Boxing Promotions’ 23 years of freedom celebration.
The main fights on the undercard will be the junior lightweight 10-rounder between Aphiwe Mboyiya and Sibusiso Zingangu.
In another bout, Flint Mdletshe from KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape’s Xolani Mcoteli will meet for the vacant SA junior welterweight crown.
