SA ring official Neville Hotz will be one of the three judges when Moruti Mthalane makes the second defence of his IBF flyweight crown in Japan on Monday next week (May 13).
Mthalane takes on mandatory challenger Masayuki Kuroda in Tokyo.
The other two judges are New Zealander Ian Scott and local Masakazu Murase who‚ apart from a few assignments in the Philippines‚ has not scored outside Japan.
The referee is American Mark Nelson.
Hotz is no stranger to world title fights or Japan.
He was one of the judges when Hekkie Budler won the IBF and WBA junior-flyweight titles in Japan last year.
But he hasn’t always been a good charm for SA fighters — he was in Mexico when Nkosinathi Joyi lost his IBF strawweight belt in 2012‚ although that was by stoppage‚ not by scorecard.
Hotz was ringside when Anthony Joshua won his first world heavyweight strap‚ knocking out Charles Martin to lift the IBF heavyweight mantle in 2016.
Mthalane jetted out to Tokyo on Sunday.
Moruti Mthalane will have SA judge in world title defence
SA ring official Neville Hotz will be one of the three judges when Moruti Mthalane makes the second defence of his IBF flyweight crown in Japan on Monday next week (May 13).
Mthalane takes on mandatory challenger Masayuki Kuroda in Tokyo.
The other two judges are New Zealander Ian Scott and local Masakazu Murase who‚ apart from a few assignments in the Philippines‚ has not scored outside Japan.
The referee is American Mark Nelson.
Hotz is no stranger to world title fights or Japan.
He was one of the judges when Hekkie Budler won the IBF and WBA junior-flyweight titles in Japan last year.
But he hasn’t always been a good charm for SA fighters — he was in Mexico when Nkosinathi Joyi lost his IBF strawweight belt in 2012‚ although that was by stoppage‚ not by scorecard.
Hotz was ringside when Anthony Joshua won his first world heavyweight strap‚ knocking out Charles Martin to lift the IBF heavyweight mantle in 2016.
Mthalane jetted out to Tokyo on Sunday.