The 2019 Friday Fight Night Season kicks off at the iconic Castle of Good Hope on the 25th of January in Cape Town. The event follows on from the tournament staged at the same venue in December, where Emile Kalekuzi was crowned the IBF Youth World Champion to a packed house.
The January event features Cape Town Favorites Cristiano “ Warrior of Faith” Ndombassy originally from Angola and Johannes “The Pearl of Paar” Salie from South Africa. These two fighters clashed before in 2017 in a contest that could have gone either way with the eventual winner being Ndombassy with a controversial ate stoppage.
“I was not happy with the ref stopping the fight they way he did, I was dominating Cristiano and I believe this was the wrong call, on the 25th I look forward to showing that I am still the best Junior Middleweight in Cape Town.” Johannes Salie
Ndombassy has switched camps and is now under the guidance of Emile Brice and joins a strong stable with the likes of Lunga Sitemela, Tony Mayala and Aziz Kunert. The bout on the 25th will be his first outing under his new team and coach. Ndombassy is a puncher with real power at Junior Middleweight and is arguably the favorite the chalk up another victory against the more experienced Salie. The 25th of January will provide the final showdown between these two fierce rivals to claim the title of “king” of the Junior Middleweights in the mother city.
The remainder of the bill features former SA Bantamweight Champion Toto Helebe hailing Gugulethu, who looks to get his career back on track after a number of challenges and inactivity. Helebe rose to fame when he achieved the difficult task of going to East London to win the SA Bantamweight title, now in his thirties he now moves up to Featherweight division where he feels more comfortable.
Another notable fighter on the bill is the bright prospect Aziz Kunert, Kunert began boxing as a youth offender at the Drakenstein Prison where training in the noble art was part of a rehabilitation program for juvenile inmates. In under two years as a pro he has amassed some solid victories and has already developed a strong Cape based following. His is an inspirational story of how boxing has provided the discipline, life skills and a new exciting career as a professional athlete.
The Castle of Good Hope once again provides the setting to the event, where Kalakoda Promotions have entered into a strategic partnership with the Castle Control Board and the First Nations to use boxing as a platform for mediation, healing and social cohesion.
“The two events we have collaborated with Kalakoda demonstrated the power of sport and specifically boxing to bring people from all walks of life together. We are invested in positioning the Castle as a safe and inclusive space for all South Africans and these events play a pivotal role in realizing this vision.” Calvyn Gilefan CEO Castle Control Board
The event will be broadcast live to 50 million homes on Kwesé Free Sport as well as through sublicense deals across the Africa. The Kalakoda and Kwesé partnership rolls on to provide the continent with regular boxing and the platform for African athletes to compete and shine.
“We are set up for an exciting 2019 and what better way to start the year than a classic home grown derby, once again we are hosted at the Castle which is a relationship we value greatly and look to grow from strength to strength” Steve Kalakoda – Kalakoda Promotions
The doors open at 18:00 and tickets are available on QUICKET.
