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BULAWAYO-BORN pugilist Elvis Moyo has been given a chance to redeem himself at the Extreme Fighting Championships Africa next Thursday when he trades leather with former EFC champion Andrew Van Zyl at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johanessburg.Moyo, better known as “The Bulawayo Bomber”, had been praying to get an opponent in the July 3 bill and his wish came true after Lance Ceronio, who had been originally billed to take on Van Zyl, picked up an injury forcing him to withdraw.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Van Zyl. “I’ve sparred with the ‘White Buffalo’ Francois Botha before as well as some other top boxers. It’s a different challenge. Of course Moyo’s going to have clean KO power going all the time.”
Van Zyl originally stated that he was looking forward to testing his chin and playing a more expansive game against Ceronio. With Moyo as his opponent, he’s taking a different approach.
“I’m taking that statement back,” he said. “You can’t jump straight into the deep end with someone like that.”
“He’s (Moyo) hesitant, he stays back, waiting with his right hand cocked,” continued Van Zyl. “He’s a big guy and he hasn’t been physically tested yet. If I work him up against the fence, he’s going to get tired. Moyo’s dangerous, but there are ways around that. I’ll be keeping things very tight.”
“The pressure’s on me, here,” Van Zyl concluded. “Elvis probably only needs one good punch to end it, which means I won’t be making any mistakes. It’s up to me to set the tone of this fight, and take it where I want it.”
When questioned on his own road to the currently vacant title, Van Zyl said he hoped that he would be given the opportunity to fight at least once more before the scheduled title showdown between Christophe Walravens and Brendon Groenwald in Cape Town later this year.
“Walravens has shown really good boxing but he hasn’t been tested in the clinch. I think he’s a good athlete, he’s gone through four people, but let’s see how Brendon does against him,” said Van Zyl of the contenders.
Moyo’s trainer Gert Strydom has challenged the heavyweight champion to put up a spirited fight.
“You better lift your game bro (Moyo). We need to win something,” Strydom told his boxer. – Online
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter