"It will be a killer, and a chiller, and a thriller when I get the gorilla in Manila," said former world boxing icon Cassius Clay, better known as Muhammad Ali, when promoting his fight against Joe Frazer back in 1975.
Taking a leaf out of Ali's speech, local boxing trainer John Nemakonde proclaimed: "It will be a thriller in Tzaneen when Raider Muleba meets Kholosa Ndobayeni in the national title fight on 13 November this year. Muleba is going to avenge her defeat in their first encounter. Now it is payback time. She will consume her [opponent] alive."
The two female pugilists will be fighting for the South African Female Lightweight title. "She [Ndobayeni] does not stand a chance against us at the moment. This fight is historical because it is the first national female boxing title to be fought in this province. I call on all boxing fans in the Vhembe District to accompany us to collect the title in Tzaneen," Nemakonde said.
Meanwhile, after more than two hours' non-stop training at the Thohoyandou Town Hall on Tuesday morning (25 October), an exhausted Muleba said she could not wait to meet her opponent and prove that she was the best in this division in the country. "I wish the fight was happening right here, right now. I fought her in her backyard and lost on points because of a hometown decision methodology. This is a do-or-die fight for me. In fact, it is war," she said.