| Fana-Baloyi in March! |
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| Written by Ron Jackson - Fightnews.com | |
| Tuesday, 22 January 2008 | |
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In an intriguing battle of veterans, Mzonke Fana is scheduled to defend his IBF junior lightweight belt against Cassius Baloyi in March at a venue still to be announced by promoter Branco Milenkovic.
Baloyi 38-3-1; 18 earned the right to challenge Fana 27-3; 10 when in one of the best performances of his career Baloyi outpointed former IBF champion Gairy St Clair of Guyana in November last year. Many critics were of the opinion that Baloyi had come to the end of the road after lacklustre performances against Isaac Hlatshwayo in 2005 and Manuel Medina and St Clair in 2006. However, Baloyi, 33, who has won the WBU junior feather and feather belts, the IBF junior lightweight and two IBO junior lightweight belts surprised those same critics in 2007 when he won the vacant IBO junior junior lightweight with a third round stoppage win over Nazereno Ruiz in February. In July last year he was in complete command against Manuel Medina when the fight was declared a technical draw in the fourth round after Medina received a bad cut over his eye in an accidental clash of heads. In November he outpointed St Clair in an IBF junior lightweight title eliminator. The IBO in their wisdom then stripped Baloyi of his junior lightweight belt in terms of a recently introduced rule in which a fighter is stripped of his title should he participate in an elimination contest with another sanctioning body. The 34-year-old Fana a former SA and WBC International junior lightweight champion who made his pro debut in 1994 the same year as Baloyi, was also written off by the critics after a disastrous second round stoppage loss to Marco Antonio Barrera on April 9, 2005. However, he put this loss behind him and scored wins over Benjamin Solano and Jack Assis before outpointing Roberto Arrieta in an IBF junior lightweight title eliminator. On April 20 last year against the odds he outpointed Malcolm Klassen who had won the IBF junior lightweight title from Gairy St Clair, in his hometown of Khayalitsha. Making the first defence of his belt in Klerksdorp on August 31, 2007 Fana was in outstanding form when he stopped the capable Javier Osvaldo Alvarez of Argentina in the ninth round. Even though both fighters are nearing the end of there careers the bout has created much local interest and could develop into a grudge match like another local match-up when Baloyi fought his arch rival Phillip Ndou on November 3, 2001 which was voted King Korn Fight of the Year. In a rather surprising turn of events when the fight went to purse bids at the IBF offices on January 15 the sole bidder was Fana’s promoter Branco Milenkovic of Branco Promotions with a bid of $100 000 (R703 000). |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 23 January 2008 ) |
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