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 | | Wednesday, 15 May, 2002, 09:39 GMT 10:39 UK Magee to fight South African  Brian Magee pulled out of an IBO title defence in April Belfast boxer Brian Magee will defend his IBO super-middleweight title against veteran South African Mpush Makembi in Leeds on 15 June. Thirty-five-year-old Makembi is a former IBO middleweight champion and his record includes two victories over British fighter Adrian Dodson. Magee's contest with the South African will be on the same bill as Neil Sinclair's British welterweight title bout with Wexford-born Derek Roche. Makembi could prove the most difficult opponent of Magee's 15-fight career. The South African claimed the IBO middleweight title by knocking out Dodson in 11 rounds in 1998 and then defeated the Englishman in five rounds in a rematch. Makembi also lost two close tussles to highly-rated Dutchman Raymond Juval.
Magee produced a tremendous performance to claim the IBO super-middleweight title in December with an early stoppage of Argentine Ramon Britez. He then produced a less convincing display to defeat Armenian Vage Kocharayan on points in an eight-round bout in March. Magee was scheduled to defend his title last month but pulled out after being unhappy with a late change of opponent. Makembi is a highly-regarded fighter but Magee will have the advantage of being a natural super-middleweight while the South African is moving up on the scales. Meanwhile, Belfast flyweight Damaen Kelly will fight for the WBF's version of the world title in London on Tuesday. Kelly takes on Celso Dungud of the Philippines in a bout which will feature on the same bill as Audley Harrison's latest contest. The former IBO flyweight champion is hoping that a convincing win over Dungud could lead to a clash with WBA champion Eric Morel in the near future. | | See also:  Other top Northern Ireland stories: Links to more Northern Ireland stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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