Ricardo Malijika stands a great chance against IBF super-flyweight champion Fernando Martinez, according to Stan Christodoulou, the Hall of Fame official.
The South African was ringside in Japan in July when the Argentine beat Kazuto Ioka in his back yard in his third title defence. Christodoulou was impressed and thought Martinez had the beating of Malajika – until he saw him outclass Yanga Sigqibo last weekend.
“I sat and watched and thought this was a different fighter [to what I had seen before],” he told Brian Mitchell on the Golden Gloves vlog. “He looked superb. If you had asked me before, I’d say maybe. Now I’ve seen first-hand. He never lost a round [against Sigqibo] and from the third round he took over completely. To me he won all the rounds and has everything going for him.”
Indeed, the IBO junior-bantamweight champion was in top form, dominating Sigqibo before finally knocking him out in a dramatic 11th round at Emperors Palace.
Malajika’s improvement under trainer Manny Fernandes has been remarkable. He was outstanding in his second last fight, against Marcel Braithwaite, but went up another level against his countryman last month to confirm his place among the top four or five fighters at the weight in the world.
“Fighting Martinez is a tough fight, but he has a chance,” said Christodoulou, South Africa’s most accomplished official. “He definitely has a shot, and his backers should push for that.”
Indeed, Golden Gloves boss Rodney Berman has already made tentative enquiries. He knows that Malajika is at the level where he will only be tested by the very best.
“It’s something we are looking at,” he added. “He is on the verge of international renown, which is credit to his hard work and the amazing job trainer Manny Fernandes has done. Manny has added the polish and Malajika has improved out of sight.”
