Boxing back on the box soon ... so stay tuned

BOXING South Africa (BSA) has started the ball rolling regarding the reintroduction of SABC television dates.

The sports ministry stepped in last year to try to resolve the impasse over who owns television rights to fights that had kept boxing off the national broadcaster's channels for two years.

This issue, which has been a bone of contention for many years between promoters and the governing boxing body, almost tore the sport apart. Promoters and BSA both claim ownership of television rights.

Previously, the SABC distributed the rights to promoters, a process that disillusioned many as most dates were given to Branco Milenkovic, who controlled more SA champions than any other promoter doing business with the public broadcaster.

Milenkovic would often release champions to rival promoters who had dates but no national champions under their wings. This gesture helped prevent some champions being stripped of their crowns because they had not met deadlines for mandatory title defences.

But promoters were still not totally satisfied.

Finally, Sport Minister Fikile Mbalula, MECs for sports and the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee called for indabas in all the provinces last year where issues affecting boxing were tabled and later dealt with at a national indaba, including the issue of television dates.

BSA acting chairperson Ntambi Ravele made it clear that it was agreed that the national controlling body will distribute television dates for development, female boxing and those for the magazine programme.

She said it was also agreed that promoters would bid for dates for top fights.

"Boxing SA will be part of that process in order to make sure that all is in line with regulations," she explained. "Promoters can go and negotiate for a fee with SABC and after that Boxing SA will then have to be part of the signed agreement."