While his friends and family are making plans for the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend, British and Commonwealth junior bantamweight titleholder Marcel Braithwaite (16-3-1, 1 KO) will be packing for a very important business trip. Braithwaite is due to jet out to South Africa, where he will box 115-pound IBO titleholder Ricardo Malajika, on April 5 in Kempton Park.
The heavy-handed Malajika (12-2, 9 KOs) was born and raised in Gauteng, Johannesburg, fewer than 30 miles from Kempton Park. All but one of his professional fights have taken place at Emperor’s Palace, the venue for his fight with Braithwaite.
Although Braithwaite, 29, can look directly out across the Irish Sea during his runs along Liverpool’s waterfront, Kempton Park sits more than a mile above sea level, and Braithwaite will touch down in South Africa’s largest city as the hot summer just begins to turn to autumn. As challenges go, this is a big one.
Fortunately, rather than approaching a situation like this with trepidation, the confident Braithwaite is the type to run headlong towards it. Rather than worrying about matters that are entirely out of his control, he has conjured up a worst-case scenario in his mind and is reveling in the thought of proving himself in the toughest of circumstances.
“I’m excited,” Braithwaite told Boxing Scene. “I’m looking forward to the whole experience.
“If I can go to South Africa and do it there, I can do it anywhere. I’ve always wanted to go to Africa, but I’ve gotta be honest – I didn’t expect for it to come about like this. But I’m grateful. I’m gonna soak everything up.
“We’re going out there 10 days before the fight to acclimatize. I’m looking forward to having all the odds against me. I’m looking forward to it being hostile. I’m looking forward to the fact that it should feel like the world is against me. I just feel that in those circumstances, God’s favor will show. And I think after this, God’s favor over my life will be undeniable. It’s something I can only be grateful for.”
On April 5, all of those other issues will fade into the background and Braithwaite will have to deal with Malajika. At 5-foot-2, Braithwaite is accustomed to giving up height to his opponents but will need to be particularly switched on early against the risk-taking Malajika, who throws hard and fast.
“He’s world champion for a reason,” Braithwaite said. “I’ll take nothing for granted. He’s aggressive. That’s one of the things that stands out. He’s quite tricky and unorthodox. I think those are the very things that I’ll use against him.
“I think I’ll be able to exploit some of these gaps I’ve seen.”
Braithwaite isn’t treating the trip to South Africa as a shot to nothing. Having won English, British and Commonwealth titles, he now carries himself with the confidence of a champion. He has improved and developed into a slick boxer with improving power after years working with Wayne Smith at the famous Golden Gloves gym.
Back in 2019, Braithwaite floored the excellent Sunny Edwards before losing a unanimous decision. Ten months later, he dropped another decision to Jay Harris. Given what both fighters have gone on to achieve, both defeats have aged well.
Rather than allowing the losses to break him, Braithwaite kept going – and hasn’t lost since. In 2022, he beat current European bantamweight champion Thomas Essomba. But things really came together last year: In June, he outpointed Ryan Farrag to win the Commonwealth title and then knocked out Ijaz Ahmed to add the British title to his collection.
“I’m a lot stronger now,” Braithwaite said. “In the last few months, I’ve gained a lot of strength and power, but I also think that when you get to the 29 or 30 mark, you mature. I guess that’s what I must be experiencing, because I’m taking people out.
“I’m a completely different fighter, and as a person I’ve grown so much. Boxing-wise, I maybe didn’t understand the game, and it was too early when I got the likes of Sunny Edwards and Jay Harris. I think now I’m in a solid place.”