THE 61kg title fight between Mikaele Ravalaca and Ronald Naidu proposed for February 22 is off the table.
Bluewater Boxing promoter Samir Khan confirmed that Ravalaca’s camp had turned down the offer yesterday.
Khan posted on social media platform Meta on Tuesday that he had approached both boxers for the 61kg vacant title as negotiations with Ravalaca’s team continued.
This came off the back of Ravalaca’s win in Australia over the weekend where he stated in the post-match interview that he does not get a chance to fight for a title in Fiji.
“He won’t be taking the fight with Ronald Naidu on February 22 because he has a contest fight on February 28 in Australia. We were giving him a bigger opportunity in our country with a quality player which he won’t be getting in Australia,” Khan stated.
Ravalaca’s team had already received an offer for a fight in Australia on February 28 prior to Khan’s approach.
While the Ra lad was adamant that he can fight both Naidu and his overseas opponent, Layton McFerran in the span of a week, his management team both in Fiji and Australia had to look at the wider scope.
“Before Mika’s fight against Alec Kumar, we had already negotiated another fight on February 28 against Layton McFerran. We agree that the fight against Naidu was a good offer, but Samir had posted about it before we agreed on terms during the negotiation period.
“On another note, McFerran is ranked in the 500s in the 61kg so it will boost Mika’s ranking compared to if he fights Ronald Naidu,” Ravalaca’s local trainer Nesta Ranuku explained.
Talks of the title fight had sparked conversations among boxing fans on social media.
While some agreed that Ravalaca should be given a title fight in Fiji, others argue that he must pursue better chances overseas.
