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DRAMA THWARTS LAILA ALI FIGHT IN SOUTH AFRICA: Controversial promoter reportedly failed to deliver boxer’s fee.
*Officials in Johannesburg, South Africa are attempting to woo boxer Laila Ali back to the country for her scheduled fight against a Guyanese contender after a promoter’s failure to secure funding caused her to pull out of the event and fly home.
Hoping to fulfill the one-time wish of her father Muhammad Ali to fight in South Africa, Laila had flown in last week to prepare for her bout against 36-year-old mother-of-five, Gwendolyn O'Neill in Cape Town. But days later, she was back on a plane to the United States amidst reported mud slinging between her camp and the fight’s controversial promoter, Joe Manyathi of Sta-Trade.
According to Reuters, Manyathi has a reputation for offering empty promises of historic bouts to be staged in South Africa, including a scrapped match between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis, and an abandoned fight for Evander Holyfield.
Ali’s camp claims that Manyathi came up short on her fee of R3.5m (approximately $500,000) to fight in the country. Also, evidence surfaced that the sport minister's signature had been forged on documents seeking the support of sport authorities in Cape Town. .
A warm and enthusiastic welcome had greeted Ali, 28, when she touched down in the country last week. The hype surrounding the match-up was pervasive throughout the region, which made its ultimate cancellation all the more embarrassing for both parties involved. Meanwhile, Boxing South Africa has helped to negotiate a date and conditions for a new match and hopes Ali will return.
"The main thing in this whole issue was that there was a lot of mistrust...the main sponsor withdrew financial support so the Laila Ali camp became nervous," Boxing SA spokesman Loyisa Mtya told Reuters. "As of now everything is looking positive."
Myta said a new sponsor had come forward and officials were now waiting for the 28-year-old light middleweight champ to agree to the conditions.
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