Fabrice Benichou vs. Welcome Ncita
Date/ Venue: March 10, 1990/ Hilton Hotel, Tel Aviv, Israel
Titles: IBF junior featherweight
BY ANSON WAINWRIGHT
“Realizing Ncita’s great potential, nothing was spared to ensure that when his big moment arrived he would not falter. He prepared for the fight at the famous Kronk Gym under the guidance of Luther Burgess.
“To this day, the Benichou-Ncita fight is the only world title fight ever to have taken place in Israel, the reason being that Benichou, a Moroccan Jew, wanted to defend in front of his people.
“Golden Gloves has a number of Jewish partners, one of the exceptions being Gary Pretorius. There we were in Israel, hoping our little fighter from the nondescript township of Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape, knocks the shit out of the Jewish fighter. (laughs).
“The local custom for a Jew visiting the Wailing Wall is to make a wish on paper and insert it in the wall. Gary was watching us and asks, ‘What are you guys doing?’ We explain the tradition to him and he says, ‘I need a skull cap and a pen and paper.’ He then proceeds to write his note and inserts it in the wall.
“The next night Welcome Ncita duly obliges and a jubilant Gary shouts, ‘That wall is something unbelievable, it really, really works.’ (laughs). His wish was that Welcome should win the world title, so he put it in the Wailing Wall.”
Result: Ncita UD 12
