Heavyweight boxing promoters Rodney Berman and American Kathy Duva have joined forces to redeem the floundering career of former NABF cruiserweight champion Thabiso Mchunu.
Duva, who is the New York-based chief executive of Main Events, has exclusive promotional rights with Mchunu, but Berman and Duva have worked together before.
They co-promoted the WBC, IBF and IBO heavyweight championship bout between then holder Lennox Lewis and Hasim Rahman in Brakpan, Ekurhuleni, in 2001.
"Look, my company's ties to South Africa are strong and have run deep for a long time," she said. "Rodney and I are in the midst of making a deal to jointly promote Thabiso."
Duva has already staged Mchunu's three fights in the US, where the left- hander won the NABF belt.
That victory brought with it a top-five rating with the WBC, but Mchunu lost it and the NABF belt in May after being knocked out in the 11th round by Ilunga Makabu - the SA-based Congolese trained by Nick Durandt - in Durban. Berman, who followed action on TV, said Mchunu should not be written off based on that defeat.
"He gave Makabu a boxing lesson for six rounds before giving the fight away," he said. "I have never seen Thabiso fight that well before. I saw a champion in the making."
Berman added that he would bring international fighters to assist Mchunu with sparring because trainer Sean Smith said that was their biggest dilemma.
Duo join forces to save Mchunu's career
Heavyweight boxing promoters Rodney Berman and American Kathy Duva have joined forces to redeem the floundering career of former NABF cruiserweight champion Thabiso Mchunu.
Duva, who is the New York-based chief executive of Main Events, has exclusive promotional rights with Mchunu, but Berman and Duva have worked together before.
They co-promoted the WBC, IBF and IBO heavyweight championship bout between then holder Lennox Lewis and Hasim Rahman in Brakpan, Ekurhuleni, in 2001.
"Look, my company's ties to South Africa are strong and have run deep for a long time," she said. "Rodney and I are in the midst of making a deal to jointly promote Thabiso."
Duva has already staged Mchunu's three fights in the US, where the left- hander won the NABF belt.
That victory brought with it a top-five rating with the WBC, but Mchunu lost it and the NABF belt in May after being knocked out in the 11th round by Ilunga Makabu - the SA-based Congolese trained by Nick Durandt - in Durban. Berman, who followed action on TV, said Mchunu should not be written off based on that defeat.
"He gave Makabu a boxing lesson for six rounds before giving the fight away," he said. "I have never seen Thabiso fight that well before. I saw a champion in the making."
Berman added that he would bring international fighters to assist Mchunu with sparring because trainer Sean Smith said that was their biggest dilemma.
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