Myeza under pressure to win after Sediane postponed uncle's burial

Boxing manager Michael Sediane has prioritised the interest of his boxer Sphelele Myeza ahead of laying his uncle to rest this weekend.

Sediane, Myeza and trainer Vusi Malinga are in England where the boxer will oppose Matt Windie for the Commonwealth junior-flyweight belt tomorrow in Leeds.

Sediane’s uncle passed away after a short illness on Tuesday and was supposed to be buried this weekend. “It affected me so bad to a point where I thought of cancelling my trip, allowing only Sphelele and Vusi to go,” he said yesterday.

“It also affected my boxer when he realised that I won’t be going with him; I then changed the funeral arrangements so that I can bury my uncle on my return. The main aim is to bring the belt home; that’s why I saw it necessary to be there with Sphelele.”

Sediane’s choice could catch up with him, the family may accuse him of abandoning his flesh and blood for the boxer. His sacrifice adds pressure on Myeza to make sure that he wins the fight so that his manager’s sacrifice is not a futile exercise.

If Sediane, who owns the African Child Events which takes care of many promising fighters – including recently crowned Gauteng flyweight champ Tiisetso Modisadife – remained behind it would mean that Malinga was to look for an assistant in the foreign soil.

“My uncle was like a father to me... I am glad that I was able to postpone his funeral which will happen when I get back from [UK],” he said. “The main aim is to bring the belt home.”

Victory for Myeza will change both his life and that of Sediane financially. The boxer may not be getting paid big purse money now because he is the challenger but as a champion he'll be on the driving seat in terms of deciding how much he must be paid.

The better the purse monies, the good percentage Sediane will get as a manager.