Rodney Berman’s Golden Gloves and Arthur Pelullo’s Banner Promotions will present a sensational championship fight card on Saturday, September 12, 2009, at Emperors Palace, located at 64 Jones Street in Kempton Park, South Africa. All bouts will be televised live on Supersport starting at 8:00 P.M. local time.
In the main event scheduled for 12 rounds, Zolani “Untouchable” Marali, 20-2 with 13 knockouts, of Mdantsane, South Africa, will make his first defense of the IBO junior lightweight world title against “Sensational Kid” Ji-Hoon Kim, 16-5 with 13 knockouts, of Goyang City, South Korea.
The 32 year-old Marali, a five-foot, 11-inches tall lefthander, won the vacant IBO title in his last fight in April, 2009, with a 12 round unanimous decision against Gamaliel Diaz. He is also a former IBO junior featherweight champion and two-time South African junior featherweight champion.
Kim, just 22 years old, stands five-foot, nine-inches tall and has an exciting style in the ring. He has now won eight fights in a row, seven by knockout, since his last loss in July, 2006. A former Korean featherweight champion, he made an impressive U.S. debut in May, 2008, with a first-round TKO win against 1996 Olympian Koba Gogoladze in Las Vegas.
An exciting undercard will include:
12 Rounds, Light Heavyweights – WBO Africa Title
Isaac Chilembe, 13-1, 8 KOs, Blantyre, Malawi, vs.
Douglas Otieno, 19-3, 9 KOs, Nairobi, Kenya.
12 Rounds, Lightweights – IBO Africa Title
Grant Fourie, 10-0-1, 7 KOs, Johannesburg, South Africa, vs.
Jason Bedeman, 8-0-2, 6 KOs, Johannesburg, South Africa.
10 Rounds, Super Middleweights – IBO Youth Title
Thomas Oosthuizen, 7-0, 6 KOs, Johannesburg, South Africa, vs.
Cleber Alves, 5-1, 4 KOs, Curitiba, Brazil.
10 Rounds, Cruiserweights
Ruben Groenewald, 22-7-3, 9 KOs, Brakpan, South Africa, vs.
Ronnie Latigan, 9-7, 3 KOs, Johannesburg, South Africa.
4 Rounds, Junior Welterweights
Johnny Koen, 2-2, 2 KOs, Johannesburg, South Africa, vs.
Herbert Nkabiti, 1-0, 1 KO, Kanye, Botswana.
All bouts subject to change without notice.
Ticket prices: R175 reserved; R100 unreserved.
Doors open: 7:00 P.M.