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Widely regarded as South Africa’s finest, Ricardo Malajika has been mandated to fight for the IBF no.1 contender slot in the junior bantamweight division.
“The Magic Man’s” opponent for this no.1 eliminator bout is none other than dangerous Japanese fighter, Kenshiro Teraji, the man who defeated South African legend Hekkie Budler in 2023.
A victory for either man would propel them into the position of mandatory challenger for the belt – currently held by the veteran Willibaldo Garcia Perez from Mexico, so the stakes couldn’t be higher.
In November last year, Malajika obtained a unanimous points decision victory over Filipino Vince Paras to retain his IBO Junior Bantamweight World Title, but now his attention has shifted to grabbing hold of yet another world title, but the road of ahead of him will not be easy.
2026 will be a busy and defining year for Ricardo Malajika and some of his stablemates fighting out of Brian Mitchell’s Boxing Academy in Edenvale. Charlton Malajika is expected to make his return from injury, Beaven Sibanda is eyeing a big fight soon and Ndabezinhle Phiri also continues to capture interest from around the continent.
