Ricardo Malajika
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
Nickname | Magic Man[2] |
| Born | 28 August 1998[2] |
| Weight | Flyweight, Super-flyweight |
| Boxing career | |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record[1] | |
| Total fights | 19 |
| Wins | 17 |
| Win by KO | 12 |
| Losses | 2 |
Ricardo Malajika (born 28 August 1998) is a South African professional boxer who has held the IBO super-flyweight title since September 2023. He is also a former IBO flyweight champion.
Career
Malajika made his professional debut at Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa, on 21 October 2018, knocking out Nkululeko Mnisi in the first of their scheduled four-round contest.[3]
At the same venue, he claimed the vacant IBO super-flyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Kevin Luis Munoz on 2 September 2023.[4][5]
Malajika successfully defended his title with wins over Marcel Braithwaite via unanimous decision on 5 April 2024,[6][7] and Yanga Sigqibo by 11th round stoppage on 23 August 2024.[8][9]
Moving down a weight division and again at Emperors Palace, he challenged IBO flyweight champion Jackson Chauke on 1 March 2025. Malajika became a two-weight title holder when he stopped his opponent in the second round.[10][11]
Once more at Emperors Palace, he defended his super-flyweight title for the third time against Jayson Mama on 9 August 2025. He knocked his opponent to the canvas five times before the fight was stopped in the fifth round.[12][13]
Again at the same venue, Malajika retained his super-flyweight championship for the fourth time on 29 November 2025, defeating Vince Paras by unanimous decision.[14][15]
Personal life
Malajika's younger brother Charlton is also a professional boxer.[16][17]
Professional boxing record
| 19 fights | 17 wins | 2 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 12 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 2 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Win | 17–2 | Vince Paras | UD | 12 | 29 Nov 2025 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | Retained IBO super-flyweight title |
| 18 | Win | 16–2 | Jayson Mama | TKO | 5 (12), 1:09 | 9 Aug 2025 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | Retained IBO super-flyweight title |
| 17 | Win | 15–2 | Jackson Chauke | KO | 2 (12) | 1 Mar 2025 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | Won IBO flyweight title |
| 16 | Win | 14–2 | Yanga Sigqibo | KO | 11 (12) | 23 Aug 2024 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | Retained IBO super-flyweight title |
| 15 | Win | 13–2 | Marcel Braithwaite | UD | 12 | 5 Apr 2024 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | Retained IBO super-flyweight title |
| 14 | Win | 12–2 | Kevin Luis Muñoz | UD | 12 | 2 Sep 2023 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | Won vacant IBO super-flyweight title |
| 13 | Win | 11–2 | Adrian Lerasan | TKO | 5 (10) | 18 Mar 2023 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 12 | Win | 10–2 | Sihle Jelwana | TKO | 8 (8) | 10 Dec 2022 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 11 | Win | 9–2 | Arnel Lubisi | TKO | 2 (6) | 17 Sep 2022 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 10 | Loss | 8–2 | Sikho Nqothole | UD | 8 | 9 Apr 2022 | Superbowl, Sun City, South Africa | |
| 9 | Win | 8–1 | Khayalethu Mbedje | KO | 1 (8) | 25 Sep 2021 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 8 | Loss | 7–1 | Sabelo Ngebinyana | SD | 8 | 14 Mar 2021 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Rofhiwa Nemushungwa | UD | 10 | 19 Dec 2020 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Mnqobi Mqhize | TKO | 8 (10), 1:31 | 30 Nov 2019 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Layten Gloss | TKO | 6 (10), 1:53 | 23 Aug 2019 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Arnel Lubisi | KO | 1 (6) | 8 Jun 2019 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Andile Cindi | UD | 6 | 24 Feb 2019 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Tebogo Makwala | TKO | 1 (4), 2:29 | 8 Dec 2018 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Nkululeko Minso | KO | 1 (4) | 21 Oct 2018 | Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa |
References
- ^ "Boxing record for Ricardo Malajika". BoxRec.
- ^ a b c "Ricardo Malajika". tapology.com. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Young talent shows fighting spirit". Southern Courier. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Ricardo Malajika wins vacant IBO title". supersport.com. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "South African Boxer Ricardo Malajika Triumphs In IBO Junior Bantamweight Title Fight". Zenger. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Malajika retains IBO title on a complete shutout". supersport.com. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Edenvale champ retains world title at boxing tournament". Bedfordview and Edenvale News. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "IBO Junior Bantamweight Champ Malajika Drops Sigqibo Three Times, Wins By 11th Round Stoppage". Fight Sports. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "SA boxer Sigqibo hospitalised after losing his challenge to Malajika". Times Live. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Ricardo Malajika Blitzes Jackson Chauke in Two Rounds". The Ring. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Ricardo Malajika Stops Jackson Chauke To Become A Two-Weight Champ". Fight Sports. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Malajika Stops Mama To Retain His IBO Junior Bantamweight Title". Fight Sports. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- ^ "Malajika Drops Mama 5 Times In A Stoppage Win". boxingnews.com. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- ^ "Ricardo Malajika retains IBO world super-flyweight title against Vince Paras". British Boxing News. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
- ^ "Malajika triumphs over Paras to retain IBO title". Sowetan. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
- ^ "Ricardo Malajika Wants To Get a Crack at Bam Rodriguez". The Ring. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
- ^ "Malajika's team prepares third title bout for the champ". Times Live. Retrieved 18 March 2025.