In a radical departure from recent form, Golden Gloves will pit two “outside” fighters for an IBO title bout at Emperors Palace in June.
IBO featherweight champion Lusanda Kominisi, who is trained by Loyiso Mtya, will defend his belt against Tshifhiwa Munyai, a former Commonwealth champion who boxes for Brendan Hulley.
It’s potentially a cracking fight as Kominisi is among the most underrated boxers around and Munyai, who enjoys one of the best nicknames in the business – “The Atomic Spider” – has mixed in excellent company.
Kominisi (19-4) is a crippling puncher, as he demonstrated with a fifth-round KO of Roli Gasca in his last outing. After an indifferent start to his career, he has gone 15-1 since 2009.
Munyai is on a three-fight winning streak, his last defeat a razor-thin split points decision loss to world champion Paulus Ambunda in 2014.
“Anyone who knows boxing knows these two come to fight,” said promoter Rodney Berman, explaining that the IBO had already sanctioned the bout.
He explained that two things had led to his decision to make the fight. The first is that it’s a compelling match-up. The other was Berman’s view that these two, like many others, deserve to be showcased.
“Our top boxers don’t fight often enough, it’s that simple. Local fans deserve to see a fight of this caliber.”
Berman added that irrespective of the outcome of April’s showdown between Johnny Muller and Kevin Lerena, he was negotiating for Lerena to fight unbeaten Micki Nielsen on the undercard. The WBA Youth cruiserweight title would be on the line.
