Only in boxing could you have a pair of South Africans contesting a world title fight in Northern Ireland.
This will be the case on Saturday night when Zolani Tete, the excellent WBO bantamweight champion, puts his belt on the line against third-ranked Siboniso Gonya.
The action will be broadcast live from 9.25pm on SuperSport 10.
It will be Tete’s second fight of the year after a routine win against Arthur Villanueva in April, although he is no stranger to the United Kingdom, having fought there four times in recent years.
Tete, a southpaw, ranks as one of South Africa’s outstanding fighters, a boxer-puncher who is unbeaten in five years and might have been a superstar but for his lack of opportunity.
Gonya is a curious choice of opponent. Little-known beyond KwaZulu-Natal, he’s nonetheless shown solid fundamentals in racking up an 11-1 win, including a career-best defeat of Immanuel Naidjala in Namibia seven months ago.
In a public workout in Johannesburg last week, Tete said he would be generous to his challenger and give him four rounds before knocking him out.
“I really wanted to make the first defence of my title in front of my supporters,” said Tete, who will be fighting angry for another reason – his house was recently broken into.
“I haven’t seen much of Gonya‚ but I think he’s not ready for me. Because he’s South African I’m going to give him four rounds . . . I’m being generous‚ I’m being kind,” he said.
The bill is topped by 2016’s Fighter of the Year, Carl Frampton, a two-weight world champion, against Mexican Horacio Garcia.
