By Linda Ximba
South Africa’s most decorated boxer, Hekkie Budler, will be smiling all the way to the bank after drawing major cash without breaking into a sweat.
The Gauteng-based boxer has accepted a step-aside offer from Asian promoter Honda Teiken.
This means Japanese boxer WBC junior-flyweight world champion Kenshiro Teraji will face WBO champion Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzales from Puerto Rico.
They will collide in a unification bout in April at a venue still to be confirmed.
Budler’s trainer and manager Collin Nathan told Scrolla.Africa it was an offer too good to resist.
“One of the reasons Teraji’s promoter badly wanted that fight is because there are WBA and the Ring Magazine belts on the line.
“But before agreeing to take the offer, we added a clause that the winner between Teraji and Gonzales will defend against Budler. From our side it’s a good business deal,” said Nathan.
Budler qualified to challenge for the WBC crown after a spectacular performance when he toppled Mexican Elwin Soto with a flash knockdown in the last round to steal a unanimous but narrow 12-round decision in their world title eliminator in June last year.
That was a massive comeback as detractors had thought he was finished. He surrendered his WBA junior flyweight crown by quitting in round 10 against Hiroto Kyoguchi in Japan in 2018.
Budler became the first local fighter in 68 years to lift the Ring Magazine belt after winning both the IBF and WBA belts.
Many fighters globally have earned big money by stepping aside when they were in mandatory positions to challenge champions.
Recently controversial US promoter Don King tried to entice South African Thabiso Mchunu to accept an offer to make way for Mexican megastar and multiple title winner Saul Canelo Alvarez to challenge WBC Cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu.
Mchunu declined the offer, thus foiling ambitions for Alvarez to add more titles to his collection.
Pictured above: Hekkie Budler
Image source: Ring Africa
