Can Pirates go the distance with pound for pound kings Sundowns?

It might sound absurd to talk about a title decider just 10 games into the season, but football has a funny way of throwing early punches that still sting months later.

If you’ve followed the beautiful game long enough, you’ll know the Betway Premiership is rarely won before December, yet some clashes tell us everything about who’s got the heart of a champion.

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The Mamelodi Sundowns versus Orlando Pirates game is one of those fixtures. When these two heavyweights step into the Loftus Versfeld ring on Saturday, expect fireworks, footwork, and some big punches.

This is not just another league game, it’s a battle for bragging rights, momentum and maybe even a psychological upper hand in the title race.

In boxing, those early rounds matter and scoring points early makes the championship rounds easier to manage. When you’re facing the reigning champion, you can’t just survive, you’ve got to impress the judges, in this case your own fans. You have to dominate the middle rounds, shake the champion, and show the crowd you’ve come to take the belt home. That’s exactly what the Buccaneers must do in Tshwane. 

Picking up points against your title rivals is like landing clean jabs, they might not finish the fight, but they build confidence and chip away at the opponent’s aura. If Pirates truly want to dethrone Sundowns, they have to at least land a glove on the Brazilians, if not a knockdown.

Saturday’s bout at the venue that once hosted the historical WBA Heavyweight title fight between Gerrie Coetzee and John Tate in 1979, will reveal whether Pirates have the power to trouble Masandawana, who have shown an iron chin in the domestic league. Sundowns have taken every punch thrown their way for years before delivering a knockout blow of their own.

I’ve said before that this Pirates side looks tougher and more composed this season, despite a shaky start. However, resilience alone won’t win them the championship. They’ll need to turn defence into attack and make their punches count early in the campaign.

The last time the two sides met at Loftus in a league encounter, Sundowns handed the Sea Robbers a 4-1 beating. The Chloorkop-based side are still the undisputed pound-for-pound kings of South African football.

Pirates may have claimed revenge with a 2-1 win at the FNB Stadium later that season, courtesy of a Relebohile Mofokeng brace, but the damage had long been done. Sundowns still went on to lift a record-extending eighth successive premiership title.

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So when the bell rings this weekend, the question will be simple, can Pirates truly trouble the champions, or will Sundowns remind everyone why the silverware remains firmly in Chloorkop?

We already know Pirates can box clever, their two draws against Sundowns in the MTN8 semi-finals proved as much, but in the premiership, where everything is on the line, Sundowns tend to punch harder, last longer, and finish stronger, especially with their home crowd roaring them on.