Johannesburg – Hekkie "The Hexecutioner" Budler continues to show a greater sense of urgency with each sparring season ahead of his International Boxing Organization (IBO) junior flyweight title showdown with Joey Canoy from the Philippines on the February 4 "Thunder and Lightning" bill at Emperors Palace.
Last March, Budler was relieved of his WBA and IBO minimumweight belts in one foul swoop by Nicaragua's Byron Rojas with an unanimous 12-round points decision in a major upset after all three judges scored the bout 115-113.
Since then, Budler has moved up one weight division and in his only outing since losing his titles, Budler had an easy points victory over Siyabonga Siyo last October. His sights are clearly set on adding another belt to his already impressive collection and trainer Colin Nathan has had his charge preparing since early December for the vacant IBO title shot.
The five-bout "Thunder and Lightning" bill, presented by Golden Gloves Promotions, will feature some crowd favourites as well as a couple of talented prospects. The ever-improving Kevin Lerena will take on Namibian Vikapita Meroro in a fight scheduled for 10 rounds.
Lerena will be buoyed by the prospect of landing a lucrative overseas fight in the not too distant future. After his impressive Super 4 championship win last October he should not be troubled by Meroro, who has not fought since losing by KO to Russian Dmitry Kudryashov in May 2015.
However, reports from the Namibian capital Windhoek, say that Meroro has been training hard and is of the opinion that a victory against Lerena will get his career back on track. The smart money will be on Lerena, who hopefully will add another win to his career record of 16 wins against a single loss. Meroro will not have any time to get rid of the ring rust should he wish to pull off a shock victory against a fighter who is always well prepared.
In an international light heavyweight bout scheduled for 10 rounds, Ryno Liebenberg comes up against Enrico Koelling from Germany. This is a rematch of their fight last year, the German taking that one by split points decision. Most people who watched the fight clearly feel that Liebenberg was robbed by way of a poor decision.
Liebenberg, who likes to mix it, will in all probability not try and leave this one to the judges. The Highveld altitude could play a role in this fight. Should Liebenberg sense that German is tiring, he will certainly go in for the stoppage in the later rounds.
In a welterweight bout scheduled for 8 rounds, young sensation and big hitting Thulani Mbenge takes on veteran Ntuthuko Memela. Mbenge has to date had 8 fights in the paid ranks. Not one of his opponents has been able to go the distance and it will be interesting to see how he fairs against a vastly more experienced Memela.
In a light heavyweight fight scheduled for 4 rounds, Rowan Campbell takes on Fhulufhelo Ramaliba. The tournament will be broadcast live on Supersport. Hekkie Budler in preparation for his fight 4 February at Emperors Palace.