Local bare-knuckle boxing champion Khodani Nephalama, nicknamed "Cena" for bullying his opponents in the ring like former world wrestling champion John Cena, says he is going to knock his opponent, Thulani Nkwinika, out when the two pugilists meet in the ring during this weekend's Tzaneen Boxing Tournament.
The matches take place at the Nkowankowa Sports Centre on Saturday (12 November).
The reserved-looking boxer from Mukula village said Nkwinika was going to pay for making him lose his debut fight three months ago. "I made the mistake of accepting the challenge at short notice and not being one hundred percent physically ready for my boxing debut. But I am physically and mentally ready for this fight," he said.
Nephalama, who used to do musangwe (bare-knuckle boxing), has had to learn the rules of professional boxing. According to him, the two sports are very similar except that, in professional boxing, they use boxing gloves, while you fight with your bare hands in musangwe. Also, in musangwe, you are allowed to use your knees and headbutt your opponent, where this is not allowed in professional boxing.
"I have already learnt the boxing rules and am ready to rumble. As a former musangwe champion, I am a warrior. I am calling on all my fans to accompany us to Tzaneen and witness when I destroy my opponent. I don't see this fight lasting for more than two rounds," he said.