South African cruiserweight Thabiso 'The Rock' Mchunu. during a fight. Thabiso Mchunu, undeterred by his recent setback in Russia, is eagerly preparing for a home turf victory against Amador Kalonji in Pretoria on May 1, as part of The Reckoning undercard. Picture: Golden Gloves
Image: Golden Gloves
Ahead of his upcoming fight against DR Congo’s Amador Kalonji on May 1 in Pretoria, South Africa, Thabiso Mchunu is thrilled to have the opportunity to fight on his home turf.
Mchunu lost in a 10-round fight against Muslim Gadzhimagomedov in Moscow, Russia, at the end of January.
Returning home as one of the undercard fights in The Reckoning, headlined by the Kevin Lerena-Serhy Radchenko bout, at the SunBet Arena in Times Square next month presents Mchunu with an opportunity for redemption.
Ahead of his bridgeweight fight against the Russian, Mchunu was confident in his chances but ultimately suffered a costly defeat.
Although there were discussions about Mchunu contemplating a weight reduction to cruiserweight for his upcoming bout, he ultimately chose to engage in a fight within the bridgerweight division against Kalonji.
“It's a pleasure for me to be in a fight on the 1st of May and I'm ready and I'm glad I'm fighting back at home,” Mchunu told SportsBoom.com in an exclusive interview.
“It's been a long journey fighting overseas and I've been fighting top elite fighters.
“So now I think this fight just came at the right time because I just fought two months back, and I'm fighting now again. So it's going to be a very big fight for me and it's going to be very much a big improvement and I'm going to win very convincingly.”
That loss to Gadzhimagomedov certainly will not have helped Mchunu, especially considering he is in the twilight of his career at 37 years old.
That seems to have forced his hand, and instead of dropping down a weight division, the 94-kilogram southpaw chose to stay as a cruiserweight and fight an evenly-matched opponent in Kalonji.
“I wouldn't say it’s a comeback because as I said I just fought two months back. I'll say this, I will say it's a just stay-busy fight, but it is a very serious fight because I've got a lot [more] to lose than to gain.
“So for me it's very risky fighting this, I’m making sure I'm in shape and I win very convincingly.”
Despite his age, Mchunu still has lofty hopes for his career.
“I believe I can still be a world champion and I feel as if my previous fight that I fought for the WBC world title … that opportunity was taken away from me by the judges, because I believe I won that fight. I would have been the WBC world champion, but it's a pity that judges saw it the other way,” said Mchunu.
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