Ghanaians primed for two title fights on SuperSport

Ghanaian lightweight Bilal (Take Punch) Mohammad steps out of his comfort zone this weekend to face rising South African star Jason Bedeman in a lightweight 12-rounder for the WBA Pan-African title.

The two will square off at Emperors Palace, east of Johannesburg, in a tournament to be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Also joining Mohammed is countryman Thomas Awinbono, who has the massive challenge of upsetting unbeaten super-middleweight Tommy Oosthuizen, also of South Africa. They, too, fight for a Pan-African belt.

Mohammad has been a solid pro for the past 11 years, although his ambitions were knocked back in 2008 when he was stopped in a challenge for the Commonwealth championship. He has been largely inactive since, although he picked up a win against novice John Larbi last year.

He will have all he can handle in Bedeman. A neat fighter with a good workrate, Bedeman has had a very solid start to his career and last year stopped fellow prospect Grant Fourie in one of the biggest local upsets.

He is unbeaten in 12 fights and will be favoured to make it number 13 on Saturday, March 27.

With Oosthuizen being primed for a world title shot in late 2010, this is Awinbono’s chance to gatecrash the party. He’ll find in “Tommy Gun” a tall, rangy opponent who carries serious power in either hand. Fortunately Awinbono has an iron chin, but what it may come down to is workrate. His path to victory will lie in ramming his way past Oosthuizen’s jab and keeping him on the backfoot.

Also on the bill is Flo Simba, the exciting South African heavyweight novice, who takes on experienced Stephen Castle.

Boxing fans can catch all the action on February 27 live on your World of Champions at 19:00 CAT (5pm Ghana time) and can go to www.supersport.com or press the OK button on the DStv remote control for additional info, updates and other sporting highlights to look out for.