Fresh from winning the International Boxing Association (IBA) heavyweight belt, Chris “The Wolf” Thompson will participate in the organisation’s championship in Dubai.
“Yes, winning the IBA belt has opened doors for me, and I will be involved in all its weight championships, which start November 30 until December 14,” said the former SA and ABU titlist.
Thompson was crowned as the IBA heavyweight champion on October 29 after outboxing Georgiy Yunovidov of Russia over eight one-sided rounds at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Manila, in the Philippines.
Trained by Shannon Strydom, Thompson said: “Fights [in Dubai] from all 17 weight divisions will be three-rounders, with the finals over eight rounds.
“The money is a lot more than what I make here.”
— Chris “The Wolf” Thompson
“The money is a lot more than what I make here. We will know who we will fight in the opening stages of the event after the draw on December 2.”
The left-hander is the second local boxer to win an IBA boxing belt. The first was Jacob “Baby Jake” Matlala, way back on July 18 1997. On that day, the now late former two-weight world champion defeated American Michael “Little Hands of Stone” Carbajal in the flyweight division in Las Vegas.
But the SA National Boxing Control Commission did not recognise Matlala’s belt, and the pint-sized could not defend it here.
Asked if the Boxing SA board recognises Thompson’s belt, CEO Tsholofelo Lejaka said the emergence of the IBA as a player in the professional boxing space is a reality that can’t be ignored.
“Of course, SA has its own historical relations with IBA, which in the broader local context have been championed by Sanabo [the South African National Boxing Organisation],” he said.
Sanabo is the organisation that regulates amateur boxing in SA.
Last year, the IBA financed the inaugural Nelson Mandela African Boxing Cup tournament, which the association staged in conjunction with the African Boxing Confederation and Sanabo at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.
Lejaka said: “During that programme, the BSA had an opportunity to sit with IBA authorities in exploratory engagements to understand the IBA’s vision and programmes for boxing development and promotion in the continent, and this definitely found resonance with BSA’s own vision.
“While no formal and structured relations exist at the moment, BSA can confirm its preparedness to enable [the] IBA to play an even bigger role in the region.”
Sowetan