Former SA featherweight champion Zolisa Batyi will again use a friend to help him get back to winning ways when he faces Likho Sigaba for the WBA Gold title at the Guild Theatre on November 1.
Promoted by KayB Promotions, the show will mark the fourth time a boxing tournament is staged in the venue, often used for music performances, political dialogues, stage plays and other forms of entertainment.
KayB Promotions boss Mzi Booi has since fused boxing into some of the entertainment events despite the venue being relatively small.
Booi said it was imperative that more venues were opened in the city for boxing amid the struggle for facilities, which led to Xaba Promotions taking their tournament to an unfamiliar venue at Hope Schools in Summerpride.
Having since resonated with boxing fans due to its location and professional setting, the Guild Theatre is expected to draw a full crowd when Batyi makes his ring return in the city after beating bosom friend Awonke Tini at Hemingways Casino in December.
The bout marked the last time Batyi registered a win, having since lost his last two bouts to render his future in the balance.
After his close win over Tini, Batyi suffered a loss against Mateus Heita in Namibia in May before dropping a decision against Ardy Katompa in Johannesburg in August.
However, he still feels both losses were unjust and that they should have been wins for him.
“If you look at those bouts, they could have gone either way, but because I was fighting in Namibia the decision went to the local fighter,” he said.
“Even people in Namibia congratulated me after the fight and commended me for my toughness because they thought their guy was going to easily stop me.
“The same goes for the Katompa bout, which I also think, at worst, it should have been a draw.”
Batyi said he was beyond being concerned about the outcomes of his bouts but was glad he was active to keep supporting his mother, who is recovering from a stroke.
“All I want is to keep fighting so that my mother recovers; then I will see where my career is taking me.
“One thing for sure is I will keep putting in my best performance against anyone I am facing, as I proved against my friend Tini.”
While he would have preferred to face someone else and not Sigaba, Batyi understands boxing is a business, so sometimes friendship has to be put aside to earn a living.
“It happens everywhere in boxing where close friends fight each other because as much as boxing involves attempts to cut each other’s head, it is still a sport.”
While Tini helped him to get back to winning ways, he will be the underdog against the unbeaten Sigaba, whose last bout was ironically a debatable victory over Tini at the same venue in April.
