By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com has been informed that lightweight contender Ali Funeka (30-1, 25KOs) has signed a joint promotional deal with Cedric Kushner of Gotham Boxing and Gary Shaw of Gary Shaw Promotions. Funeka's entire career has played out in South Africa, under the arm of overseas promoter Mzi Mnguni, with help from Branco Milenkovic.
Kushner was unavailable for comment, but Shaw told BoxingScene "the deal is done."
Funeka gain some notoriety among hardcore fans when he scored a fourth-round knockout over top-contender Zahir Raheem in an IBF eliminator that was held in July. The win made Funeka the IBF mandatory to champion Nate Campbell, who also holds the WBA and WBO titles.
Funeka is supposed to be the next guy to get a crack at Campbell, who recently voided his promotional deal with Don King, via bankruptcy. Most industry insiders are expecting King to put up a fight in order to keep Campbell in place. Regardless of any unforeseen issues between Campbell and King, the 30-day negotiations period began on Wednesday, per the IBF, so a deal for Campbell-Funeka will have to be reached within the next few weeks or the fight will head to purse bid.
