Ludumo Lamati ready to get down to business in WBC title fight

Ludumo “9mm” Lamati will have to draw his big caliber weapons as he challenges England’s Nick Ball for the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) featherweight silver title at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday night.

The bout is the main shootout bout for the IBF featherweight crown between Mexican champion Luis Alberto Lopez and Irishman Michael Conlan, co-hosted by Conlan Promotions, Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Queensbury.

There is an old saying in boxing “somebody 0 has to go” and if there is no draw, it will be the case as two undefeated fighters Lamati (21-0-1 – 11 KOs) and Ball (17-0-10 KOs) pitted against their skills to each other.

Step up in class

The 31-year-old former IBO and IBF Intercontinental Champion from the Eastern Cape, promoted by the Boxing5 consortium and part of the fledgling group No Doubt Management, has competed primarily in the featherweight (super bantamweight) division and will face a big move up in class in the hostile Belfast pot.

Trained by shrewd former Olympian Phumzile “Kid Chocolate” Matifila, Lamati made a smooth transition to featherweight last November when he knocked out Filipino Marc Anthony Geraldo in four rounds and is currently unranked in the division.

Ball, 25, by contrast, has defended the silver belt twice since winning the vacant belt in April 2022 and is ranked fourth by the WBC, eighth by the WBO and 13th by the IBO.

“I’ll take care of business”

At the pre-match press conference in Belfast this week, Lamati appeared calm and confident as he gave brief and blunt replies to foreign boxing media about the fight.

“He’s strong, he’s tough, but I’m ready for whatever he brings into the ring. I’ll take care of business at night,” Lamati said. “I am more experienced, pushed to the limit, and I have the advantage of height and reach. He (Ball) is a forward fighter. If he’s going to bully me, I deserve it in the ring because I let him.”

Larry Weinstein, the head of Boxing5, confirmed that there are various contracts with signed guarantees of future fights if Lamati wins, and the door will also be open to ensure high rankings in the main sanctioning bodies.