Tete back in Liverpool

South African super-puncher Zolani Tete is loving life in Liverpool as he prepares to take on menacing Mexican Jose Santos Gonzalez for the Vacant IBF International Bantamweight title this Saturday, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

‘Last Born’ impressively announced himself on the world scene back in March last year with a devastating eighth round knockout of then unbeaten Ellesmere Port ace Paul Butler. His world-class performance left English fans mesmerised and demanding to see more. The 27 year-old is thrilled to be back in Liverpool and is promising to deliver another show-stopping performance on his return to the Echo Arena.

“I’m delighted to be back in this wonderful city. I love Liverpool and especially all my fans who have made me feel so welcome. After my fight against Paul Butler I started getting a lot of Tweets and Facebook messages from fans in Liverpool saying they were looking forward to watching me fight again. Now I’m here I promise to put on another entertaining fight for all of my new friends,” said Tete.

Tete, from Mdanstane in the Eastern Cape, is one of the most explosive punchers in the division with an incredible 18 knockouts in 22 wins. Boxing fans who attended Derry Mathews’ public workout on Monday were lucky enough to get an opportunity to meet the former IBF World Super-Flyweight Champion who was more than happy to sign gloves and pose for photos.

He said: “It’s great to get an opportunity to meet some of my fans. While I’m here I want to meet as many of them as I can because I didn’t really get the opportunity last time I fought here. It was nice to be able to talk boxing with them; they’re really knowledgeable and clearly love the sport. On Saturday I’m going to repay their support by showing them what I’m capable of.”

The clinical southpaw is no stranger to facing Mexicans, having stopped Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr with a spectacular tenth round knockout in November 2013. The powerful Bantamweight is expecting another tough night.

He said: “Jose is a strong fighter and he has my full respect. I think it’s going to be an amazing fight for the crowd while it lasts. Unfortunately for Jose he is standing in the way of bigger things for me so he’s going to fall just like the others. Mexicans are notoriously tough so I’m going to have to bring my A game to get past him.”

Touted as one of the best boxers to come out of Africa in recent years, Tete is determined to become a multi-weight world champion and is determined to get another shot at a world title in 2016.

“I believe this is going to be a big year for me. Frank Warren has got some big opportunities coming up for me. I’m looking forward to them and I want to be a world champion again. Hopefully if all goes well I’ll be fighting for a world title at some point this summer.”

Ticket for ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’ are priced at £40, £60, £80, £100, £150* and are available from:

Eventim
0844 249 1000
www.eventim.co.uk

Liverpool Echo Arena
0844 8000 400
www.echoarena.com

Ticketmaster
0844 844 0444
www.ticketmaster.co.uk

A special V.I.P ticket priced at £250* that includes an inner ringside V.I.P seat, lanyard, complimentary beer, wine and soft drink (between a certain time period) and canapés are available to purchase through the Frank Warren Box Office office only on 01992 505 550.

The Channel Of Champions, BoxNation, will televise live and exclusive on Sky 437/HD 490, Virgin 546, TalkTalk 415 and Freeview 255. Subscribe at www.boxnation.com or watch online at watch.boxnation.com and via iPhone, iPad or Android and Amazon devices.