Education
He finished his amateur career with a record of 101–4.
He finished his amateur career with a record of 101–4.
Mathebula competed for his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney in the Men"s Featherweight (– 57 kg) division, where he defeated Noureddine Madjhoud in the first round and lost to Bekzat Sattarkhanov in the second round. Mathebula made his professional debut on 17 February 2001, and has been managed and trained by Nick Durandt and promoted by Branco Sports Promotions. He fought to a draw with Malcolm Klassen in a six round bout in Temba, North West in September 2004.
Mathebula defeated Julio Zarate via a unanimous decision with the scores of 117–109 twice and 118–109 in an IBF super bantamweight title eliminator in Temba on 29 August 2008, after knocking him down twice in the tenth-round.
Hence, Mathebula fought against Caballero for the WBA Super World and IBF World super bantamweight title. However, he lost his first world title shot against Caballero via a split decision at the Roberto Duran Arena in Panama on 30 April 2009.
lieutenant was the SABC-televised first boxing event after one year interruption. In one of the more defining and memorable fights of Jeffrey Mathebula"s career, Mathebula fought the hard-hitting, WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Nonito Donaire (29–1 18 KO"s).
Donaire is rated by The Ring as the number five pound-for-pound boxer in the world.
lieutenant was a unification fight for IBF and WBO Super Bantamweight belts. The bout was Live on Home Box Office Boxing After Dark on 7 July 2012 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Donaire defeated Methebula by unanimous decision.
Donaire knocked Mathebula down in round four, breaking his jaw in two places.