‘The Rock’ gets another crack at Makabu — with WBC belt on the line

It will be a great occasion to celebrate boxing on the African continent in the early hours of Sunday morning (SA time) in Warren, Ohio, when Thabiso “The Rock” Mchunu bids to relieve Ilunga “Junior” Makabu of his WBC cruiserweight world title belt.

Not only does the much-talked about fight – staged by veteran promoter Don King in his hometown – have a strong continental flavour, but both of the combatants have South African trainers manning their respective corners, a mini battle within a battle.

Reigning WBC cruiserweight champion Makabu (28-2-25 knockouts), who hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is trained locally by Damien Durandt, while WBC silver champion Mchunu (23-5-13 kos) falls under the tutelage of Sean Smith.

The iron-fisted Makabu, who has been training at an undisclosed location, will be making the second defence of the title he captured in 2020 by out-pointing the previously unbeaten Pole Michal Cieslak in his Kinshasa back yard.

The two southpaws are certainly not unfamiliar foes. They met in May 2015 in a WBC eliminator, with Makabu’s signature left-hook sealing the deal in the 11th round after Mchunu appeared to be ahead on points.

‘This is for the big one’

Mentally, Mchunu knows he out-boxed Makabu for five or six rounds, but there is always the niggling thought that he was stopped with a single punch.

But Mchunu is determined not to make the same mistakes in what is a classic boxer-fighter confrontation. As his trainer Smith succinctly put it on Friday: “The first time was an eliminator – this is for the big one – for all the marbles.”

Both boxers have developed as athletes over the years and never shied away from quality opposition. If Mchunu has anything stored in his memory bank from the first encounter, he would recall that Makabu is traditionally a slow-starter but has a big gas tank for the later rounds.

If the South African manages to box well, move well and stay out of trouble and steadily accumulate points, he might taste success, but one can’t help feeling if he gets careless or tries to stand toe-to-toe and trade, he may get stopped again.

Trainer Smith is acutely aware of the danger: “In the first fight perhaps we were a little bit naïve and took a high-risk option. I’m very confident in Thabiso’s boxing savvy and convinced he will navigate the situation much smarter. He must get ahead and stay ahead.”

Close to seven years is an age in sporting terms, but one thing is for certain – the WBC cruiserweight world title will remain on African soil.