Two months removed from his finest win, Siya Kuse has taken another vital step in his march to championship glory.
The Eastern Cape hero has relocated to the Brian Mitchell Academy in Johannesburg from the Eastern Cape, signing up with trainer Vusi Mtolo, who replaces Zolani Tete.
Kuse will continue to be co-promoted by Mla Tengimfene and Rodney Berman’s Golden Gloves with Brian Mitchell enjoying a management role.
Petty jealousies in the Eastern Cape are believed to be among the reasons for Kuse’s move, but he also wants a fresh environment.
“We are happy with the move to Joburg with Rodney,” said Tengimfene. “The main thing is having a path to a title shot, and this helps us get there.”
Kuse, rated third by the World Boxing Council, last fought in December when he boxed his way to a decision win against gritty Beaven Sibanda to reaffirm his status as one of the sport’s best minimumweight fighters. He won the WBC Silver belt that night, but the big prize is the WBC championship outright, which is tantalisingly within grasp.
Current champion Melvin Jerusalem has agreed to make a defence against the South African, but there’s a catch: he must first be successful against number one contender Yudai Shigeoka in Japan next month. Ironically, Shigeoka is the same opponent he beat to win the title a year ago.
If Jerusalem loses, Kuse will be in keep-busy mode until he gets his title opportunity. Pencilled in so long is an outing at Emperors Palace on May 31 on the undercard of Shervantaigh Koopman’s IBO super welterweight title bout.
Either way, Kuse’s stock keeps rising.
