Exclusive: Thabiso Mchunu Eager for Home Turf Victory Against Kalonji

Ahead of his upcoming fight with DR Congo’s Amador Kalonji on May 1 in Pretoria, SA’s Thabiso Mchunu is welcoming the chance to fight on his home turf.

Mchunu lost in 10 rounds to Muslim Gadzhimagomedov in Moscow, Russia, at the end of January.

Returning home as one of the undercard fights in The Reckoning - headlined by the Kevin Lerena, Serhy Radchenko bout - at the SunBet Arena, Times Square, next month provides Mchunu the chance for redemption.

Ahead of his bridgerweight fight with the Russian, Mchunu was confident of his chances but ultimately fell to a costly defeat.

Though there was talk of Mchunu considering a drop to cruiserweight for his next bout, he decided to take on Kalonji in a bridgerweight division fight.

Mchunu Eager for Home Turf Victory

“It's a pleasure for me to be in a fight on the 1st of May and I'm ready and I'm glad I'm fighting back at home,” Mchunu told SportsBoom.com in an exclusive interview.

“It's been a long journey fighting overseas and I've been fighting top elite fighters."

“So now I think this fight just came at the right time because I just fought two months back, and I'm fighting now again. So it's going to be a very big fight for me and it's going to be very much a big improvement and I'm going to win very convincingly.”

Maintain Standing in Cruiserweight Division

That loss to Gadzhimagomedov certainly will not have helped Mchunu, especially considering he is in the twilight of his career at 37 years old.

That seems to have forced his hand, and instead of dropping down a weight division, the 94-kilogram southpaw chose to stay as a cruiserweight and fight an evenly-matched opponent in Kalonji.

“I wouldn't say it’s a comeback because as I said I just fought two months back. I'll say this, I will say it's a just stay-busy fight, but it is a very serious fight because I've got a lot [more] to lose than to gain."

“So for me it's very risky fighting this, I’m making sure I'm in shape and I win very convincingly.”

Despite his age, Mchunu still has lofty hopes for his career.

“I believe I can still be a world champion and I feel as if my previous fight that I fought for the WBC world title … that opportunity was taken away from me by the judges, because I believe I won that fight. I would have been the WBC world champion, but it's a pity that judges saw it the other way,” said Mchunu.

Highlights of Mchunu's Boxing Career

Having been a professional boxer since 2007, there have also been a number of standout moments for Mchunu.

“I used to watch Floyd Mayweather a lot when I was young, Pernell Whitaker, he's just passed away a few years ago, those were really my favourite boxers," Mchunu told SportsBoom.com.

“I'll say my highlight… I've got a lot, when I first went to America, I fought Eddie Chambers, the former world champion. After that he fought with the Klitschko brothers [Wladimir and Vitali]  and they were just fighting me as a stay-busy fight and they really didn’t know much about me so that's why they took me so lightly and I won that fight, I think that's one of my highlights."

“And winning the WBC Silver, fighting Denis Lebedev in Russia, that was one of my biggest highlights.”

Comeback with "The Reckoning"

Boxing in South Africa with events like The Reckoning seems to be experiencing something of a comeback of its own, believed Mchunu.

“I think as we speak now it's reviving, starting to, they're trying by all means to get it back to where it was."

“As you can see a couple of years back boxing was sort of like dying but I think now they're trying all by all means to put it back on the right track and I think we've got the talent in South Africa [we] just need the right people behind it," he concluded.