Fresh off his destructive showing against Jayson Mama at Emperors Palace on Saturday, Ricardo Malajika has received a ringing endorsement from an unlikely boxing figure.
Jim Claude Mananquil, the Philippines’ most successful boxing manager, predicted that the South African would likely move onto the junior bantamweight top spot following Bam Rodriguez’s shift up in weight.
After his fifth-round win at the weekend, Malajika was elevated to number two on Boxrec, behind Rodriguez, the WBC and WBO champion.
“No one has done that to Mama,” said Mananquil, commenting after Malajika toyed with the contender before knocking him out in the fifth round. It was a consummate performance that reaffirmed promoter Rodney Berman’s confidence in him.
“He just keeps getting better and better. I believed Mama would pose problems, but Malajika’s power neutralised him early on. (Trainer) Manny Fernandes has done a terrific job with him,” said Berman.
Added Mananquil: “I think Ricardo will beat a world champion . . . he will beat all those junior bantamweights easy.”
Mananquil has visited South Africa many times. His next order of business will be when Siya Kuse faces a critical eliminator fight later this year against Joey Canoy, another of Mananquil’s top boxers, who once fought Hekkie Budler.
