THOHOYANDOU – The camp of local boxing hero and WBC champion, Philip Ndou, said they will do their utmost not to lose their championship fight against American Floyd Mayweather, scheduled for November 1.

Besides a good record of 30 wins, all by KOs, Ndou proved his worth by beating his former stablemate and homeboy, Cassius Baloyi, on points at Carnival City in 2001; the only fight that took him the full distance in his professional career. He even told the whole world that he was going to be the first person to beat Naseem Hamed, the once-feared British boxer.

Ndou once reared a python named after Hamed in his South Gate flat. "I desperately want to knock out that guy with my powerful bombs," said the former Olympiad, once nicknamed "The Silent Killer".

When Hamed was knocked out by Marco Antonio Barrera, a hungry Ndou became a disappointed young man. He then started to chase Mayweather. It was his desire to prove his worth that made him chase the best boxers in the world. "If you think you are the best, like I do, you have to beat the best. This is exactly what I wanted, and that opportunity has finally arrived.

"This is the reason why I will not miss it. Come November 1, you will see who is the best between Mayweather and me. I know it is just a matter of time before I take that title from him. There is no more time to duck and dive now. I'm happy that he finally decided to give me the opportunity to fight him. And I will thank him for that. I will make sure that I take him off, so that he must not feel disappointed," said the outspoken Ndou.

Indeed, this is the best opportunity for Ndou and his trainer, Durant, to fulfil the goal they set together in 1997. "In 1997, I made a promise that I will keep the gym open to make Ndou the best ever boxer to be produced in the country. I said I believe Ndou will go down in history as the best fighter to be produced in the world. Indeed, I made Philip to be the WBU champion. Now, this is Mount Everest. We want to put the South African flag high on top of Mount Everest."

It was also revealed that Ndou had already planned to build a boxing Gym, Time Bomb Boxing Gym, in Thohoyandou. Although he might be near the end of his boxing career, he thinks the purse from this fight will help him to finance this gym. He says he wants to work on it when he retires, so that he can produce more good boxers like himself.

According to the plan, the gym is going to host 150 boxers for camping, when preparing for fights. As for Ndou and Nick Durant, they say they are doing their best to make sure that he will bring this title home.