- Jacob Matlala
Infobox Boxer
name=Jacob "Baby Jake" Matlala
realname=Jacob Matlala
nickname=Baby Jake
weight=flyweight
nationality=South Africa n
birth_date=Birth date and age|1962|8|1|mf=y
birth_place=Meadowlands,South Africa
death_date|=
death_place|=
style=Orthodox
total=68
wins=53
losses=13
draws=2
no contests=
KO=26|Jacob "Baby Jake" Matlala (born
August 1 ,1962 in Meadowlands,Johannesburg ) was aSouth Africa n boxer and juniorflyweight champion. In 2004 he was voted #72 in the "100 Greatest South Africans" poll organized by SABC.At the age of ten Matlala started going to the gymnasium with his father who was an aspiring boxer. He turned professional in 1979, and began his boxing career on
February 2 ,1980 with a fourth-round victory overFraser Plaatjie inPort Elizabeth under the guidance of Theo Mthembu.It only took him four contests to become South African Junior Flyweight Champion.
Vuyani Nene later dethroned him for the title. The pint-sized boxer foughtDavie McCauley for theInternational Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight title inBelfast ,Northern Ireland and failed in his attempt, suffering a 10th round knockout. He finally succeeded when he defeatedPat Clinton in his hometown Glasgow for theWorld Boxing Organisation (WBO) flyweight title. He surrendered his title toAlberto Jiminez , who stopped him in the 10th round inHammanskraal .On
July 19 ,1997 against all odds, Matlala defeatedMichael Carbajal in Las Vegas, USA for the International Boxing Association (IBA) flyweight title. He later relinquished it to challengeHawk Makepula for the vacant WBO junior flyweight title. The fight ended in disappointment for Matlala, who lost.For the second time in his career he suffered two defeats in succession when his former sparring partner,
Peter Culshaw defeated him on points for the World Boxing Union (WBU) flyweight title. In February 1999 Matlala claimed the vacant WBU flyweight title.In 1999 a scandal surfaced that Matlala had allegedly raped Julia Mnyamezeli, an aspiring gospel singer and family friend. It was also alleged that she and her husband demanded 2 million rands for damages and emotional trauma they suffered only for the figure to be reduced to R250 000.
Matlala ended his boxing career at
Carnival City ,Brakpan by stopping Colombian Juan Herrera for the WBU junior flyweight title in the seventh round. In so doing Matlala became the only South African boxer to have won four world titles in a career of 27 stoppages, 54 wins, 12 losses and 2 draws. The ultimate honour bestowed on the boxer was the arrival ofNelson Mandela and American actorWill Smith at ringside mid-way through his farewell fight. Matlala after the fight was so overwhelmed that he decided to present his WBU belt to Nelson Mandela.References
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