Hlatshwayo's journey to stardom gets delayed

By Scott Shaffer

05/02/2005

Hlatshwayo's journey to stardom gets delayed

Isaac Hlatshwayo's dream of making it big on the American boxing scene is still intact, but it took a bit of a detour yesterday.  The South African lightweight champion (rated #10 by Boxingtalk) flew all the way across the Atlantic with trainer Manny Fernandez for a non-televised undercard bout at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. Hlatshwayo was hoping to use the bout against journeyman Marty Robbins as an audition for the Showtime executives in attendance.  Instead, Robbins suffered a deep cut on the top of his head that led the bout being declared a no-contest after just one round.  "We're still not sure what actually happened," said Cedric Kushner, who co-promotes Hlatshwayo with Rodney Berman.  "But the doctor stopped the fight. Isaac is somewhat bummed out becuase he didn't get the opportunity to put on an impressive performance." Hlatshwayo's flight and stay in New York cost more than the entire purse he received for the bout.  Now 20-0 with 1 no contest, Hlatshwayo is heading back home to figure out his next step.