Big mouths and big fights set the tone for Golden Gloves’ exciting new year
The war of words between Ricardo Malajika and Jackson Chauke threatened to steal the show on Thursday when Golden Gloves lifted the lid on its first quarter plans for 2025.
The pair were in full voice at the Johannesburg press conference where Malajika presented his rival with a dummy and a baby blanket “to stop him from crying” with Chauke, in turn, warning his fellow IBO champion about being disrespectful.
Malajika will step down in weight to challenge for Chauke’s IBO flyweight belt on March 1, the first-ever showdown between two reigning IBO title holders, which heralds a slew of action from Golden Gloves.
This will also be Malajika’s first fight as a boxer steered by a three-team business consortium comprised of Lennox Lewis’ Lion Promotions, Golden Gloves and Adriano Sport and Music. The deal was put to bed when Lewis and business manager Adrian Ogun were in South Africa in December.
Thursday’s event also saw the official draw for the light heavyweight “Rising Titans” tournament, which takes place on the same night as the IBO clash.
Bryan Thysse will fight Tuvia Wewege in the one half of the draw with Bonginkosi Nhlapo up against Michael Head in a rematch of their thrilling drawn bout in 2023.
Each will earn R80 000 on the night, but the bigger prize awaits the overall winner with the vacant SA title on the line plus a cool R250 000 bounty on May 31 – R150 000 for the winner with R100 000 for the other finalist.
There was terrific energy between the four, each of whom proclaimed their determination to claim the national belt. Indeed, Head returned from Florida in the US, where he had been crewing super yachts, to chase down the SA title.
The very next day, also at Emperors Palace, there will be an eight-bout development tournament designed to showcase the Golden Gloves nursery of talent. Included among them is Lewis protégé Kestna Davis, who will be making his second trip to SA after winning here last month.
Lewis, the former heavyweight world champion, will again be ringside for a first-hand look.
Then, on April 18, Roarke Knapp will venture overseas to take on unbeaten Bakare Samake in France for the WBC Silver belt at junior middleweight. Still beaming over the birth of his child, Knapp has since returned to the gym to prepare for what amounts to a critical fight.
Malajika, whose IBO super flyweight belt won’t be on the line against Chauke (and thus not in jeopardy), will then defend against Elton Dharry of Guyana on May 3.
Later that same month, on the 31st, Shervantaigh Koopman will have a crack at the IBO junior middleweight championship, ensuring a surplus of top-class action for local fight fans.
Promoter Rodney Berman also announced two major new sponsors in the form of SuperSportBet and iME, a leader in the video tech sector.
Grant Greeff, the chief executive of SuperSportBet, heralded the new partnership, reflecting that the strategic partnership between SuperSport, the broadcaster, and Golden Gloves had stood the test of time.
“We’re looking forward to a good number of years together,” he said. “We’re really excited and think it will be an incredible experience.”
Meanwhile, Alvina Pillay, iME’s executive of strategic partnerships, was just as bullish on what’s to come.
“We love that iME is the newbie on the block and the global streaming partner of Golden Gloves. The partnership is testament to shared determination with Golden Gloves to elevate the sport.”
Berman himself was anticipating an outstanding season of boxing in Golden Gloves’ 48th year of operation.
“We have much more to come,” he said in anticipation of another major announcement with international impact. “There will be many new faces, many new opportunities. The fans have plenty to look forward to.”
