JEMUEL Aranas faces his stiffest test to date as he clashes with former world champion Phumelala Cafu in a 10-round bout Sunday dawn, Aug. 2, 2026 (PH time), at the Buela Park Academy in Gauteng, South Africa.
Aranas, a native of Carcar, Cebu, is coming off huge back-to-back wins this year after a disappointing campaign in 2025.
He outclassed the most experienced opponent of his career, Renoel Pael, via convincing unanimous decision in Masbate before knocking out Jeric Noynay to claim the World Boxing Foundation (WBF) Silver flyweight title in Cebu City.
Cafu is expected to be the toughest opponent Aranas has ever faced.
The South African won the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super-flyweight belt with a split decision victory over Japanese star Kosei Tanaka in Japan in 2024.
Cafu lost his belt after suffering a 10th-round knockout to then World Boxing Council (WBC) super-flyweight champion Jesse Rodriguez in a title unification bout in the US last year.
Despite the setback, Cafu is still ranked No. 13 by the WBC in the super-flyweight division.
Aranas owns a win-loss-draw record of 9-3-1 with five knockouts, while Cafu is 11-1-3 with eight knockouts. / EKA
