AN EX-CONVICT CALLED ‘THE ANGEL’ VOWS TO TAKE DAPUDONG’S TITLE

By Manny Pinol

East London, South Africa – Until the time Edrin “The Sting” Dapudong met his challenger, South African Lwandile Sityatha, face to face in a pre-medical session Tuesday, there was little information available on the 26-year-old East Londoner.

There were no fights uploaded on youtube.com, no pictures in newspapers and all that was available to the Filipino champion’s camp was a hazy video of one of Sityatha’s recent fights.

“He is a fighter. He keeps on moving forward,” observed assistant trainer Rex Penalosa, also an ex-boxer who grew up with Dapudong since the days they were teen boxers who belonged to North Cotabato’s amateur boxing team.

During their first face-off Tuesday, it became obvious that Sityatha is taller and more muscular than the Filipino champion.

It was evident, however, that Sityatha was having problems with weight because he looked gaunt, an indication of a fighter who has limited food and liquid intake to make the 115-lb. limit for Super Flyweights.

While Dapudong was only 116 lbs. in the trial weigh in, even if he was regularly taking light meals and measured liquid, Sityatha was still 2.3 lbs. over the weight limit.

Boxing writer Mesuli Zifo of East London’s Daily Dispatch, in a lengthy article which came out Tuesday described Sityatha as a fierce body puncher.

“Sityatha is one of the fiercest body punchers in the business but at times he inexplicably decides to abandon this effective boxing style. He also possesses a granite jaw and can walk through fire to light up his own. He also possesses a high work rate and although he is not a one-punch knockout specialist, his volume of punches can easily end a bout,” Zifo wrote.

But Zifo also pointed out Sityatha’s weaknesses as a fighter.

“He is an erratic boxer that one will never know which Sityatha will show up on match day. He tends to get uninterested and will go through motions with no defence for the entire round. Has a leaky defence and can easily be outboxed by a mobile boxer using angles. Tends to lose concentration in the ring and catch a simple punch he could have easily avoided. Does not know how to hold when in trouble and will just backpedal with no plan to stem the tide,” Zifo pointed out.

With a record of 17 wins, 3 losses, 1 draw and only 8 KO wins, Mdantsane’s Angel obviously does not have the experience of the 28-year-old champion who has scored 29 wins with 5 losses with 17 of his victories coming by way of knockout.

Dapudong, who is called a “Road Warrior” by South African boxing trainer Gert Strydom, has travelled halfway around the world and has fought several world champions in his quest for boxing glory.

The fight against Sityatha is his third in South Africa. The first two were against Gideon Buthelezi, another South African who defeated Dapudong by a controversial split decision in the first fight but who was flattened cold by The Sting in their second meeting last year.

But there is something in Sityatha which could work to his advantage: He is poor and hungry and to a point desperate.

In fact, before boxing promoter Ayanda Matiti, who is staging the world title fight on Friday in the Orient Theater here, took him in, Sityatha went to jail for two years for armed robbery.

Of course, everybody knows people who are capable of taking the risk to stage an armed robbery are either desperate or very daring.

This is something that Dapudong will have be prepared for when he meets the Angel of Mdantsane on Friday, July 18.

“We will win the fight and get Dapudong’s belt. This would be a fitting tribute to the Madiba, Nelson Mandela, who birthday we will celebrate on the day of the fight,” said Matiti.

(Photo caption: Dapudong face to face with Sityatha and a shot of the article and photo about the fight which came out in the East London Daily Dispatch.)