Title Is Staying Here – Panther
(PRESS RELEASE) Territorial advantage and screams from the crowd will not be enough to help Takalani “The Panther” Ndlovu dethrone IBF junior featherweight champion Steve Molitor on Saturday night, warned the Canadian.
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“There is no shadow of doubt that I will beat Takalani in front of his supporters on Saturday,” said Molitor straight up at a press conference in Johannesburg yesterday.
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Molitor is a seasoned campaigner who has been to war.
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Ndlovu will need to fight like a man possessed in every round in order to convince the judges and make up for two failed attempts against Molitor.
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Their highly anticipated third meeting will take place at Nasrec Arena near Soweto where Ndlovu, the mandatory challenger, comes from.
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Promoter Branco Milenkovic, who will present the fight, wants Ndlovu to win in order for South Africa to have two IBF champions.
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The other champion is flyweight kingpin Moruti “Baby Face” Mthalane who will make a second defence on the same bill against Johnriel “Quadro Alas” Casimero from the Philippines.
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Tickets for the tournament have been sold out and the Gauteng sports department, which has partnered Milenkovic in staging the event, has urged Ndlovu and Mthalane to make Gauteng proud.
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Ndlovu promised to do just that. “This title will remain here where it belongs,” he said at the same press conference.
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Ndlovu will find Molitor in great shape, thanks to Courtney Shand, the best physical conditioner in the world.
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Courtney Shand (R) looks on as he puts Molitor through an intense workout!
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Shand did wonders for Lennox Lewis throughout a fruitful boxing career.
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Molitor and trainer Chris Johnson are not concerned at all about fighting Ndlovu in his own back yard.
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“We’ve travelled all over the world and won all our fights. We will do just that on Saturday,” Johnson said.
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Molitor, 30, is highly motivated by two factors – the birth of his first daughter on March 30 and a fight purse of about R2million (2 Million South African Rand is equivelent to approximately $284,021.13 Canadian) . It is unclear how much Ndlovu will be paid for this fight.
