Zolani Tete vs Omar Narvaez
Hard hitting WBO Bantamweight Champion Zolani Tete will appear on the undercard of the Frampton/Donaire bill at the SSE Arena in Belfast on April 21st.
He was due to take fight on ‘The Untouchables’ card last week, however he was forced to postpone the bout after picking up a calf injury in training. His opponent remains unchanged and we will see him fight Omar Narvaez in what will be Tete’s second defence of his crown.
He will fight in the same arena that saw him gain a legion of fans, after he set a new world record. Knocking out Siboniso Gonya with his first punch of the fight in mere seconds. This knockout putting the division, and most namely Ryan Burnett on notice that he would try and clean up. Although it seems the Belfast native is not interested in a unification with ‘Last Born’ he himself vacating the IBF title in order to fulfil his WBA Mandatory.
Tete’s opponent is no stranger to world honours. A two weight world champion at Flyweight and Super Flyweight. He will be setting his sights on a belt at a third weight. He is 5-0 since losing to Noaya Inoue, besting Nikolai Potapov in his last bout.
“Let’s see who the real Bantamweight king is,” said Tete. “I want to unify the division and Ryan Burnett is standing in my way. Let’s not rob the public of a brilliant fight, they want to see the best fight the best.
“Until that fight is made I will do everything that is asked of me by my team. Narvaez is a mandatory defence and I’ll be aiming to dispatch him in style to make another statement. I can’t wait to put in another explosive performance for all of my new fans in Belfast, see you in April!”
“Tete is an exceptional talent and I’m delighted that he will be showcasing his skills in Belfast once again,” said Promoter Frank Warren. “We’re bringing him back to Belfast because we want to make the Ryan Burnett unification fight.
“If Tete keeps on dominating shows in Burnett’s hometown perhaps it will lure him out of hiding. Let’s give the fans the fight that they want to see. We want to make that fight in Belfast and I’m sure it would pack out the SSE Arena.”
With news that Naoya Inoue is looking to fight WBA ‘Regular’ Champion Jamie McDonnell the 118 pound division is certainly heating up, and with rumours running rampant that the next WBSS tournament could very well be in the Bantamweight division, one can only hope we see these men including in the tournament.
By: Aaron Cooper
