Eastern Cape boxer Phikelani Khumalo, who walked away from a promising football career in KwaZulu-Natal in 2020 to become a professional boxer, will get another opportunity to fight for the South African and African Boxing Union middleweight title at Rodney Berman’s “Survivor” event at Emperors Palace on the East Rand on 29 November, where he will take on the dangerous Donjuan van Heerden on a five-star bill.
Khumalo, who previously played for Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge, will defend the title he unexpectedly won in March in only his tenth professional fight when he defeated John Bopape at the town hall in Estcourt. What made Khumalo’s title win more impressive was that he had no experience as an amateur boxer.
He will now face the real test against Van Heerden, driven by his hunger to be crowned South African champion. Khumalo has won eight of his ten fights, knocking out five of his opponents.
Van Heerden has had 13 fights with ten wins and three losses, boasting seven knockouts. There is already considerable interest in this fight, as the outcome will probably not go the distance, with a knockout being a strong possibility.
In the main event of the evening, red-hot Ricardo Malajika will defend his IBO super flyweight title against Vince Paras from the Philippines.
