Despite recent speculation that WBO champion Phumelela Cafu would make the first defense of his super flyweight title on the road against the great Roman Gonzalez, the South African’s team has announced that he will instead be fighting at home.

And Gonzalez will not be in the opposite corner.

“It feels good that I’ll be fighting at home because most of my fans have been hoping that I fight at home,” said Cafu. “This is really a dream come true, knowing that every South African fan at the venue will be cheering for me. It’s very important to me to defend my title; once more, I get to showcase my skills in front of my home crowd, so I’m excited. 

“You know my goal is to be undisputed, and I want to fight the big names in the division, like ‘Bam’ [Jesse Rodriguez] and Martinez. If the Gonzalez fight happens in the future, then great. I’m here to establish my own legacy.”

The champion’s trainer and manager Colin Nathan said that the Gonzalez fight “has not come together”.

“We are now moving ahead with Phumelela doing his first defense of his super-flyweight WBO world title right here in South Africa,” said Nathan. “We are currently looking at three provinces to host this event, with the eastern Cape, western Cape, and Gauteng all being possibilities. 

“Although we have not yet finalized an opponent for Phumelela, the WBO has strict policies regarding their challengers, so it will be someone credible. This upcoming contest is the biggest and most prestigious contest and world-title fight since Sive [Nontshinga] defended his IBF world championship in East London [the city in South Africa] in 2023. Equally, I am aware that there has never been a WBO world-title fight in East London. In terms of Cape Town, the last WBO world title fight was when Nika Kumalo lost a split decision to Manning Galloway in 1991. The date we are targeting is at the end of May.” 

The event will be promoted by Boxing 5 in association with Teiken Promotions.