Mungandjela faces IBO champion Mbenge

Namibian welterweight Emmanuel Mungandjela will get a televised fight against a former world title holder in Pretoria on Thursday night, on the under-card of Kevin Lerena versus Serhiy Radchenko.SuperSport’s live broadcast of the event is scheduled from 19:00 until 23:00 (channel VR4, Variety 4) on Thursday.His opponent Thulani Mbenge, 33, won the vacant IBO welterweight title for a second time against the UK’s Michael McKinson by unanimous decision over 12 rounds in London in October last year.The South African is well versed at the higher levels of the sport, having previously held various belts at welterweight, including the WBA Pan African title, the WBC International title and the African Boxing Union belt.Mbenge holds a record of 21 wins (15 inside the distance), while his two points losses were in title fights overseas – against the still unbeaten Souleymane Cissokho of France in Paris (December 2022) and Sebastian Formella of Germany when he was still unbeaten in July 2019. At 37 years of age, the Namibian is in the twilight of his professional career, which started in June 2013 and has produced a record of 20 wins (9 knockouts) and four losses, all on points.Mungandjela’s highest profile fight to date was against Pierce O’Leary of the UK in November 2022, for the vacant WBC Silver super lightweight title. The Namibian had to get off the canvas from knockdowns in rounds one and five, on his way to a unanimous points loss over ten rounds.Mungandjela’s professional career includes notable wins against his countrymen Tommy Hango, Peter Malakia, Benhard Bernhard and Hedison Nghipondoka (three times), and a points loss against former WBO African welterweight champion Mikka Shonena.Nicknamed “The Lion”, Mungandjela’s most recent fight was a majority points win over Freeman Mabvongwe of Zimbabwe last November.Main eventKevin Lerena’s first defence of his WBC bridgerweight title will be against Serhiy Radchenko of Ukraine.Bridgerweight is a division first created by the WBC and then adopted by the WBA, though not yet by the IBF or WBO. It sits between cruiserweight (limit 90.7 kg) and heavyweight, with a maximum weight limit of 101.6 kg.Lerena, 30-3 (14 KOs), won the interim WBC title in November 2023 with a unanimous decision over Senad Gashi. He was upgraded to the full titleholder in October 2024, when Lawrence Okolie vacated the belt and moved up to heavyweight.Lerena has called out a pair of big names (Deontay Wilder, Jake Paul) to try to land big money fights, highlighting why so many cruiserweights have departed for heavyweight over the years.Lerena himself is a former cruiserweight contender who went up to heavyweight in 2022, knocking out Bogdan Dinu, outpointing Mariusz Wach, and losing a competitive three-rounder battle with Daniel Dubois. After spending 2023 establishing himself at bridgerweight, Lerena tried heavyweight again at the start of 2024. But a close loss to Justis Huni last March had Lerena considering a return to bridgerweight.Radchenko, 11-7 (5 KOs), is a 37-year-old who is ranked fifth in the division by the WBC. He went 1-7 from 2018 through 2020, losing to a number of recognizable names (Krzysztof Glowacki, Michal Cieslak, Artur Szpilka) and a handful of prospects.

Mungandjela faces IBO champion Mbenge

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Mungandjela faces IBO champion Mbenge

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