Baby Jake - one in a million

President Jacob Zuma has wished Baby Jake Matlala a speedy recovery from illness.

President Jacob Zuma has wished Baby Jake Matlala a speedy recovery from illness.

Published Jan 14, 2011

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Madiba once joked that he never wanted to be at the same function as Baby Jake Matlala. At a do with several other “names”, each one received some polite applause from the crowd as they were introduced.

Then the MC said: “And we welcome the president of South Africa!” And the crowd roared their approval and clapped long and lustily.

“But then,” Madiba said, “they announced Baby Jake was in attendance. The crowd went mad. Louder than they had for their president.”

Boxing promoter Rodney Berman told that story on Thursday at the launch of the “Night of the Little Big Man”, a benefit box and dine evening to be held at Emperors Palace on January 27. Baby Jake has, in the way of so many boxers, fallen on hard times following a long illness that has drained him financially and physically. That there has to be such an event is an indictment on the sport, where athletes are often used, chewed up and left desolate after a hard career.

It is also the mark of the sport and the character of those involved that the benefit night was put together so quickly, that Emperors Palace offered to pick up the tab for just about everything, that Nashua have got on board after SuperSport’s Graham Abrahams heard of Baby Jake’s plight on 702, and set the ball rolling. Ninety percent of the tables have already been sold. The night’s events will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

Baby Jake could not make the lunch on Thursday, having taken a bit of a turn in the morning and was at hospital. The stories ran thick and fast without him. Berman told of how he had first promoted Baby Jake in his epic world title fight against Michael Carbajal for the IBA junior flyweight crown.

“Jake and the late Theo Mthembu, his manager and trainer, came to see me because they were worried,” said Berman. “Jake hadn’t fought for a year and was worried about being stripped of his title. He was 35. I called Cedric Kushner and said that we could put on one last fight for this ‘veteran’, a final payday for him. Carbajal was a legend in his own right and had big support at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas. I remember walking into Jake’s dressing room before the fight, expecting to see people praying and quiet, but they had rap music on, Jake was dancing and so happy.”

The fight was stopped after nine rounds as Carbajal’s face was cut badly after he had been thumped by the relentless Baby Jake. It was not his last payday in boxing, but now he is left needing another. On January 27 he will be honoured by the sport he loved and which he graced with such dignity. - The Star

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