Milenkovic: Mthalane-Miranda Unification is One Call Away

By Mesuli Zifo

IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane’s promoter Branco Milenkovic has responded to the story on BoxingScene.com which quoted Julio Cesar Miranda expressing an interest to avenge his defeat by the South African-based Mthalane.

Miranda, who now holds the WBO crown in the flyweight division said his dream was to avenge two of his five defeats, one of them a lopsided points loss to Mthalane when they fought for the vacant IBF flyweight crown in South Africa in November 2009.

The title had been stripped from Filipino Nonito Donaire for refusing to grant Mthalane a rematch after the Filipino’s sixth round stoppage victory on cuts in November 2008.

The second loss he desperately wants to avenge is against WBC flyweight champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand, who beat him in April 2009.

But it is the Mthalane fight that Miranda looks likely to get after Milenkovic said his charge was opened to the clash if the Miranda’s camp would call him.

“All Miranda’s camp needs to do is to pick up the phone and call me so that we can start negotiations,” Milenkovic said.

“They must make Mthalane an offer or take what I am offering them.

However Miranda must first take care of business when he defends his WBO crown against Brian Virolia in Hawaii, US on July 16.

Mthalane has also a business to attend to as he will need to beat Italian Andrea Sarritzu in his mandatory defence in Italy on September 23.

If both fighters emerge unscathed from their assignments, a unification clash is highly possible especially as their promoters Milenkovic and Fernando Beltran have worked together in the past.

“Yes we have worked together with Fernando in the past and I do not see us having a problem for this one unless Fernando has other plans for Miranda,” Milenkovic said.

Indeed the duo cooperated to promote the first Mthalane-Miranda clash, Simpiwe Nongqayi vs Francisco Arce for the IBF junior bantamweight title eliminator won by the South African who went on to beat Francisco’s older brother Jorge for the IBF crown in another bout they co-promoted in Mexico in September 2009.

Milenkovic and Beltran who are the two best promoters in Latin America and Africa respectively also colluded into promoting Nongqayi’s sixth round stoppage defeat by Alberto Rosas to surrender his IBF crown in Nayarit, Mexico last July.

They again worked together when SA’s Evans Mbamba lost a points-decision to Mexican Tomas Rojas for the WBC interim super flyweight crown in Veracruz, Mexico in October 2009.