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Matlala finally rides into the sunset
Jacob "Baby Jake" Matlala threw the final punches of his superlative career at the Big Top Arena at Carnival City in Brakpan on Saturday 2 March 2002. Matlala ended the fight as he had so many others in his astounding 30-year career, by stopping the Colombian Juan Herrara in a WBU junior flyweight title fight in 1min 43sec of the seventh round. Apart from the massive crowd, which filled the 5000-seater arena, many luminaries came to pay homage to the mercurial South African. Among them was Nelson Mandela, who Matlala presented his WBU belt, and alongside film superstar Will Smith. The astonishing thing about Matlala is that even at 40 years old he managed to keep up such an unbelievable work rate and intensity in the fight. In the end Herrara, 10 years the younger, was left a broken man at the end of the fight, crying like a baby in his corner. Matlala dominated the fight from start to finish, with punishing combinations, and subtle footwork kept him clear of a willing Herrera. By the end of the fight, Matlala was so far on top, that he gave the watching Will Smith (who starred in the recent film Ali) an enduring memory, when executing the "Ali shuffle" to which the watching thousands roared their approval. The stoppage was the 27th of a career, which includes 54 wins, 12 losses and two draws. There are so many memories from such a long career, but one of the most abiding is the way in which the little man took Mickey Cantwell apart in London last September (2001). Whilst he and most boxing observers expected a win, against an opponent who he had beaten as the WBO junior-flyweight and titleholder, he refused to take his opponent lightly. Cantwell had said he would retire win or lose, which Matlala immediately pounced on saying "psychologically, that's round one to me…. I'm looking for a stoppage this time, although I'm fit for 12 rounds. I don't underrate him. I still respect him," said Matlala showing the professionalism which made him stand head and shoulders above all South African fighters for so many years. Matlala hopes his high profile achievements in the ring will enable him to give something back through identifying potential starlets, through a possible link up with Rodney Berman, the head of Golden Gloves who helped him immensely during his career. He said recently, "I feel I owe it to him [Berman] to reciprocate by recruiting good young fighters as a trainer for his boxing stable when I retire from the ring." Matlala also wants to recruit talented individuals to Golden Gloves through training some of the youngsters in the Dude Boys' Club, in Soweto, as he said, "By adding more youngsters to the promoting body it will add to the development of the game in the country." There is no doubt that the little man with fists of fury, has represented South Africa not just to the best o his ability, but with a pride and dignity that has helped boxing in these modern times when many boxers have fallen foul of the temptations with numerous indiscretions. If, as is his wish, Matlala follows his hero Muhammed Ali in having a biography made about him on celluloid, know one could deny he was deserving of such an accolade. |
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