The former World Boxing Federation (WBF) Super Featherweight champion Steven Bagwasi will not have a second shot at his former world title after losing the belt due to injury in his first defense.
Bagwasi lost the championship in the second round of six to an equally tough Lunga Setimela of South Africa a fortnight ago courtesy of a recurring shoulder injury. The country's hottest prospect and most successful professional boxer of the modern era will nevertheless have to shed about 3 kilograms to seize a title shot at another belt as somewhat of a consolation prize.
Local boxing promoter Thuso Scud Khubamang of Scud Missile Promotions told this publication that WBF President Howard Goldberg has extended Bagwasi a shot at the featherweight division. This means Bagwasi will have to drop down in weight to the lower weight class. This has however led to concerns in some boxing quarters that Bagwasi, who has been fighting at his natural category of super featherweight might suffer a weight drain due to shedding weight to fight in an unfamiliar weight class.
Khubamang further said the destiny of the lost belt and the potential rematch is in absolute control of Setimela's camp and that they may be highly unlikely to agree to a rematch with Bagwasi. "It is advisable to seek a rematch clause (in the future) but in the current circumstances the future of that belt is controlled by the winning camp. I have a feeling they would want to look for their own opponent," he said.
Khubamang, who is himself a former elite boxer noted that Bagwasi's injury has always lingered for some years but that the fighter had been declared fit going into the match. "It appears it (the injury) was always there. It happened before during training," he said, adding that Bagwasi is likely to be back in the ring in November if he is fully recovered and medically cleared to fight again.
Khubamang noted that Bagwasi will be presented with two options of fighting either for the African or the Intercontinental title when he recovers.
Meanwhile, his coach Thebe Setlalekgosi revealed for the first time that Bagwasi suffered from torn tissues in a shoulder ligament and that he has been undergoing physiotherapy since the picking up the injury. "He did a scan immediately after the fight and started physiotherapy sessions last week which will take about six weeks to complete without him doing anything heavy," said Setlalekgosi.
He further noted that Bagwasi still stands a strong championship chance at featherweight (47kg) which he has been offered by Goldberg. "I think we should first work on his recovery and we will engage with the promoter once he has healed," he added.
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Moreover, he stated that the boxer's injury is not a career threatening or career ending one even though he has grappled with it since his days as an amateur fighter.
Setlalekgosi also expressed optimism for his fighter's recovery even as he acknowledged the difficulty of nursing torn ligaments. He further stated that his camp will fully explore fears about Bagwasi's weight drain first. "With him being weight drained, we will have to assess that. But you must remember that this fight is an option that they gave us. If we feel that it will be too much we will not take it, but I don't think it will be too much of a problem," he said.
Additionally,Setlalekgosi stated that his fighter is in the right mental space even though he was stressed with losing a lucrative title. "He is in the right state of mind because they know what a loss means from their amateur days. In the contrary in think it will be a motivating factor to fight for a world title again as soon as possible," said Setlalekgosi.
Bagwasi's record now stands at 8 wins, 2 losses and no draw.
