|
One the most colorful and
flamboyant boxing personalities
to ever come out of South Africa
was the late Nick Durandt.
On the outside he was a loud,
strong and outspoken man,
heavily tattooed and wearing an
abundance of gold chains with
long, flowing blond hair but on
the inside he was a fantastic
guy – down to earth, humble and
a pleasure to work with.
Nick was an outstanding trainer
with a long list of world
champions and South African
champions under his belt. He
sadly passed away last year in a
motor bike accident and a big
void was left in South African
boxing.
However, the Durandt name in
boxing was not to be left quiet
for long as a new exciting and
highly competent trainer arrived
on the scene. Nick’s son Damian
decided to carry on the work of
his late father.
Damian has proved as a young man
that he is no slouch as a
trainer and in fact is making a
huge name for himself with
success in this field.
Friday night the WBF has a
highly anticipated
Intercontinental Super
Welterweight title fight which
features Damian’s charge,
unbeaten Emmeny Kalombo, 8-0
with 8 KO’s, taking on the wily
veteran and former WBF world
title challenger Nkululeko
Mhlongo in the main fight of
an outstanding bill put
together by André Thysse of Real
Steel Promotions.
Mhlongo, 16-4 with 12 KO’s,
starts as favorite against the
less experienced Kalombo, but as
Damian put it at the press
conference “The bulldog’s time
is up, and he will be lying flat
on the ground before the 10th
round.”
On the same bill the WBF
International flyweight title is
on the line between former
Olympian Jackson Chauke, 14-1
with 10 KO’s, against Sihle
Jelwana, 8-3 with 6 KO’s.
Irrespective of the results on
Friday night, it is great for
South African boxing to have
young Damian Durandt carrying
the torch for Nick – who from
the stars above is looking down
with great pride at his son’s
work.
Until next time, keep boxing.
Howard Goldberg
PRESIDENT: World Boxing
Federation
|
