Ladysmith, once the heartland of boxing in KwaZulu-Natal, is about to see its old pugilistic fortunes revived.

Since the hard-fighting Malinga cousins — Maxwell “Shaluza Max” and Thulani “Sugarboy”, both from Steadville — hung up their gloves, nothing much has happened.

Now, uMnambithi believes it is on the verge of celebrating a new champion again, with all eyes on the title fight at the Portuguese Hall in Durban on Saturday.

Ladysmith homeboy Sthembiso Maduna has vowed to become the KZN featherweight champion and hopes that will pave the way to challenging for national honours.

Once trained by Thulani but now under the guidance of Sanele “Bhunu Elimnyama” Mthalane in Lindelani, near Durban, Maduna is ranked as the ninth contender for the SA featherweight title currently held by Lindelani Sibisi of Dundee.

Maduna will take on Tholumusa “Mfundisi” Ngema on a Syathaba Promotion card.

We’ve got everything going for us — skill, experience and reach. That will be too much for him, just as it was for Khanyiseni Mbokazi in October

—  Sanele Mthalane, coach of Sthembiso Maduna

Ngema, from Esikhawini near Richards Bay, previously held the WBF junior featherweight title when he was based in Johannesburg and trained by Bernie Pailman.

Maduna’s coach, Mthalane (brother of multi-title holder Moruti Mthalane), however, painted an upbeat picture, saying, “there is nothing special about Ngema”, we just want to hurt him from the start. “Whether he will hear the bell going into the 10th round is entirely up to him.

“We’ve got everything going for us — skill, experience and reach. That will be too much for him, just as it was for Khanyiseni Mbokazi in October,” Mthalane added.

Ngema’s last fight was in 2024, when he also defeated Mbokazi

Maduna has racked up 13 wins and six losses, compared to Ngema’s six wins, three defeats and three draws.

Maxwell Malinga was South Africa’s first boxing champion from Ladysmith. He held both welterweight and middleweight belts. He later trained his cousin, Thulani, who won the SA title in more than one weight division. Maxwell’s biggest achievement, under Gauteng trainer Nick “Mthakathi” Durandt, came in 1996, at the age of 42, when he dethroned Nigel Benn in a WBC super middleweight fight in England.

Sowetan