It could be third time lucky for Tete

Boxing | South Africa

Zolani Tete © Gallo Images

 

Zolani Tete has much to fight for when he takes on Juan Carlos Sanchez in Mexico on Saturday night.
The South African, a former World Boxing Foundation flyweight champion, is up against a former IBF champion. They meet in Hermosillo in an IBF junior bantamweight title eliminator.
Tete will probably earn more than he would have received for a fight in South Africa and victory over the Mexican is certain to bring him more money, respect and popularity.
But he faces one of the toughest tasks of his career. Sanchez, 22, has won nine of his 19 professional fights inside the distance. He lost only one and drew in another.
He won the IBF flyweight belt when he outpointed Rodrigo Guerrero in February last year. He retained it against Juan Alberto Rosas and Rodel Mayol before being stripped of the belt after failing to make the weight against Roberto Domingo Sosa in June this year.
The fight went on and Sanchez won on points over 12 rounds. In September he stopped Darwin Zamora in the seventh round. Fighting in Mexico,he will be hard to beat.


The 25-year-old Tete, who boasts a record of 17-3, with 15 knockouts, has fought in two IBF junior bantamweight title eliminators but lost in both, to Rosas and Sosa.
Tete is a slick southpaw but has to contend with the speed and movement around the ring of Sanchez, also a left-hander.
In the main bout, former WBA champion Hernan Marquez fights former two-division champion Giovanni Segura in a WBO flyweight title eliminator. The 25-year-old “Tyson” Marquez has a record of 36-3, with 26 shortcut wins. Segura’s stands at 30-3-1; 26.