Having not fought in more than two years, the last thing Hekkie Budler wanted to hear was that he will have to wait even longer to step into the ring.
Such was the fate awaiting the former two-division titlist, whose attempted comeback was aborted at the scale.
Budler was due to face Tanzania’s Hamidu Kwata in the headlining bout Saturday evening at Graceland Hotel Casino in Secunda, South Africa. The show was forced to go on without them after the 21-year-old Kwata showed up more than eight pounds above the 108-pound junior flyweight limit.
Kwata was given time to shed at least some weight in order to proceed with the main event but could only get down to 115 ¼ pounds. The fight was promptly canceled, leaving Budler—who weighed 108 pounds—on the inactive list since New Year’s Eve 2018.
The event proceeded with just four fights. The makeshift headliner saw Xolisani Ndongeni (27-2, 15KOs) pick up his first win in 18 months, as he stopped Malawi’s Byson Gwayani (11-7, 4KOs) in the 10th and final round of their junior welterweight bout. Ndongeni owns a win over former junior lightweight titlist Mzonke Fana, though perhaps better known for his lopsided points loss to then-rising prospect Devin Haney (25-0, 15KOs) in January 2019.
As for Budler (32-4, 10KOs), the goal—or at least the hope—among his team is to get him back in the ring on the next available show in his home region.
The 32-year-old from Johannesburg, South Africa has claimed world titles at strawweight and junior flyweight, including his dethroning unified IBF/WBA junior flyweight titlist Ryoichi Taguchi in May 2020. The title reign was one and done, as Budler suffered a 10th round stoppage at the hands of still-unbeaten champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (15-0, 10KOs) in December 2018.
Budler has campaigned at junior flyweight since Oct. 2016, moving up after his lengthy strawweight title reign came to a close following a 12-round decision defeat to Byron Rojas in March 2016. Prior to that point, Budler enjoyed overlapping IBO and WBA title reigns which resulted in 10 successful defenses.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox