Veteran Hekkie Budler gets the nod that will give him another ring record

Hekkie Budler is set to make more SA ring history after being confirmed as mandatory challenger for newly unified world junior-flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji of Japan. 

Budler won the eliminator for the WBC belt with a magnificent points win over Elwin Soto in Mexico in June, but since then he has been waiting to hear when his title shot would materialise. 

WBC champ Teraji recently stopped his WBA counterpart Hiroto Kyoguchi — his compatriot who had dethroned Budler in December 2018 — and now the WBC bosses have ordered the victor to face Budler. 

Budler’s trainer-manager Colin Nathan said on Thursday he hoped the fight would take place by April next year. 

The moment Budler steps into the ring he will become SA’s most prolific world title challenger. If both the WBC and WBA belts are on the line his career tally will move to 10, but even if just one mantle is at stake he will still set a new mark. 

Budler shares the SA record of eight challenges — counting mainstream and marginal belts — with Sugar Boy Malinga and Cassius Baloyi. 

Budler already holds the highest number of bona fide world titles by a SA boxer, four.  

Victory would bring him level with Dingaan Thobela to have owned world titles on offer by three of the four mainstream bodies. 

Thobela possessed belts belonging to the WBO, WBA and WBC, while Budler has held straps from the IBF and WBA. 

The Ring magazine belt is given to unified champions to help eradicate the confusion of the alphabet soup of sanctioning bodies. 

The biggest statistical challenge facing Budler is that WBC titles have been the hardest to win for SA boxers, with only Malinga and Thobela succeeding in 20 attempts. 

The most recent failure was cruiserweight Thabiso Mchunu, who was unlucky to lose a split decision to Junior Makabu in the US in January. 

SA’s WBC casualties include some of the biggest names in the sport, such as Corrie Sanders, Phillip Ndou and Pierre Fourie. 

Budler’s career title challenges: IBO junior-flyweight (won); IBO strawweight (won); WBA strawweight (won); IBO junior-flyweight (won); IBF junior-flyweight (lost); IBF junior-flyweight (won); WBA junior-flyweight (won); The Ring magazine junior-flyweight title. 

To come: WBC and WBA junior-flyweight. 

Sugar Boy Malinga’s career title challenges: IBF super-middleweight (lost); IBF super-middle (lost); WBO super-middle (lost); WBC super-middle (won); WBC super-middle (won); WBF super-middle (won); IBO super-middle (lost); IBA light-heavyweight (lost). 

Cassius Baloyi’s career title challenges: WBU junior-featherweight (won); WBU feather (won); IBO junior-lightweight (won); IBO lightweight (lost); IBF junior-light (won); IBO junior-light (won); IBF junior-light (won); IBF junior-light (lost).