South African Joshua Studdard, 10-2 (8), is looking to get his career firmly on track after a stop-start campaign so far.
On October 1 in Pretoria, he fights fellow countryman Akani Sambu, 4-1-1 (3), for the vacant World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental Bantamweight title.
It has not been an easy road for him. He turned pro in 2012, and won his first seven bouts, six of them inside the distance.
But in June of 2016 he lost a decision to Ayanda Nkosi, 4-1 at the time. Nkosi went on to become WBF world champion, so no shame in that set-back.
Studdard returned with a victory, but was then beat again in December of 2017, this time by Rofhiwa Nemushungwa (10-4-2).
Following that defeat, he didn’t fight again for 27 months, and after winning a bout in March of 2020 he was again sidelined for another 30 months.
His last fight was in September of 2022, where he beat Lemogang Mapitsi (6-6-1) by first round knockout, and now he is putting everything on the line in what will be his most significant fight to date.
A victory over Sambu, who is unbeaten since losing his pro debut, will make up for a lot of the lost time.
For Sambu it is a big opportunity to make a break-through, and Studdard needs to be on point on the night.
