HAVING stunned Phumzile Matyhila newly crowned South African bantamweight champion Toto Helebe is now looking at making his first defence of the title in front of his home crowd in Cape Town.
Helebe, who dethroned Matyhila via a fifth-round stoppage in front of a hostile crowd at the Orient Theatre in East London, is due to make a voluntary defence next month.
Helebe said: "My promoter, David Faas, is organising my next fight, which will be held next month. This is a voluntary defence and I will choose an opponent to fight with me."
While talking about the voluntary defence, Helebe would not be drawn into discussing a possible fight with Lusanda Komanisi, who is Matyhila's Mdantsane homeboy and stablemate at Nick Durandt's gym in Johannesburg.
The 27-year-old Helebe stopped Komanisi in the third round when they fought in a six-rounder in Khayelitsha in 2009.
"I don't have a problem with fighting against Komanisi again, but I will only be able to pick an opponent once I have received some advice from my management and promoter," Helebe said.
Though his opponent for his next clash has not been confirmed, we can reveal that the fight will be held at the OR Tambo Hall in Khayelitsha.
Helebe, who is based in Gugulethu, Cape Town, put on an impressive performance on his way to stopping Matyhila. He came to East London as an unknown boxer and left the city with boxing fans asking which local boxer would go to Cape Town to reclaim the title.
And by stopping Matyhila, Helebe became the first SA champion from the Western Cape in eight years. Before Helebe's victory over Matyhila, the Western Cape had not had a national champion since former two-time International Boxing Federation junior lightweight champion Mzonke Fana relinquished the SA crown early in 2004.
Homecoming for Helebe
HAVING stunned Phumzile Matyhila newly crowned South African bantamweight champion Toto Helebe is now looking at making his first defence of the title in front of his home crowd in Cape Town.
Helebe, who dethroned Matyhila via a fifth-round stoppage in front of a hostile crowd at the Orient Theatre in East London, is due to make a voluntary defence next month.
Helebe said: "My promoter, David Faas, is organising my next fight, which will be held next month. This is a voluntary defence and I will choose an opponent to fight with me."
While talking about the voluntary defence, Helebe would not be drawn into discussing a possible fight with Lusanda Komanisi, who is Matyhila's Mdantsane homeboy and stablemate at Nick Durandt's gym in Johannesburg.
The 27-year-old Helebe stopped Komanisi in the third round when they fought in a six-rounder in Khayelitsha in 2009.
"I don't have a problem with fighting against Komanisi again, but I will only be able to pick an opponent once I have received some advice from my management and promoter," Helebe said.
Though his opponent for his next clash has not been confirmed, we can reveal that the fight will be held at the OR Tambo Hall in Khayelitsha.
Helebe, who is based in Gugulethu, Cape Town, put on an impressive performance on his way to stopping Matyhila. He came to East London as an unknown boxer and left the city with boxing fans asking which local boxer would go to Cape Town to reclaim the title.
And by stopping Matyhila, Helebe became the first SA champion from the Western Cape in eight years. Before Helebe's victory over Matyhila, the Western Cape had not had a national champion since former two-time International Boxing Federation junior lightweight champion Mzonke Fana relinquished the SA crown early in 2004.