Golden Gloves

Steven Castle and Flo Simba - Courtesy of African Ring

At a photo-shoot at Golden Gloves Promoter Rodney Berman’s business premises, heavyweights Flo “The Demolition Man” Simba and Stephen “The Warrior” Castle came face to face and exchanged pleasantries ahead of their forthcoming 4-round bout at Emperors Palace on February 27. The “PRELUDE” tournament next month features four title bouts and two preliminaries, of which one of the most keenly anticipated is the Simba/Castle fight.

What with Hekkie “The Hex-ecutioner” Budler challenging Juanito Rubillar for the vacant IBO world junior flyweight title; Jason “Badman” Bedeman challenging for the vacant WBA Pan African lightweight title, Tommy “Tommy Gun” Oosthuizen making the first defence of his WBA Pan African title and Tshifhiwa Munyai defending his WBA Intercontinental bantamweight crown, the expectations are great that Emperors Palace will attract yet another sell-out crowd on the night.

However, few would argue that one of the premier talking points ahead of the February bill, is the heavyweight bout between Castle and Simba. Indeed, so intense is the mood at present, that GGP CEO Berman has forked out a record purse for a four-round event in this country.

“These two guys are as different as apples and pears, and while the 20-year-old Simba has proved to be a sizzling knockout sensation from the outset, the 38-year-old Castle is an acknowledged lion-heart who specializes in upsetting the odds” said Berman.

Photographers and television crews who interviewed the two boxers at GGP headquarters constantly remarked how well-conditioned the fighters looked ahead of what could turn out to be a bitterly-waged encounter. Yet as affable as the two pugilists are outside of the ring, and make no mistake there’s a fair degree of mutual respect, the portents signal a bout that wont be for the squeamish. “I know that Stephen is far more experienced than me” said the genial Simba, whose now 2-0 as a professional, “but I figure that all the seasoning in the world amounts to nought once you get cracked solidly on the whiskers”.

A university student, Simba is certainly a lethal hitter and both of his starts in the paid ranks ended in the opening round. “Like the inimitable Joe Louis said, ‘an opponent can run but he can’t hide’ and whatever is required on the night, I mean to triumph at the end”.

Castle, however, has a similar outlook and it’s clear that he is oozing confidence. “I’m almost twice his age but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight” said Castle. “I think my record proves as much and despite the huge amount of publicity that Flo has been given, I can promise you that I’ll be fighting my heart out to win. As a matter of fact I think I can upset your ‘demolition man’ and bring him down a peg or two”.

Meanwhile there’s been substantial interest expressed by certain bookmakers ahead of this mouth-watering clash and it’s still uncertain who will enter the ring as the betting favourite.
“Simba may have won two bouts on the trot, but Castle has eight bouts to his credite (5-1-2) and only been bested once, so when you take that into account, there could be a lot of money coming for the former Capetonian” said one established Johannesburg bookie.