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Boxers must take a stand or die slaves

It is preposterous for a boxing champion to be given an ultimatum to defend a title or be stripped of it when they have managers to take care of their careers and the business side of things.

It is preposterous for a boxing champion to be given an ultimatum to defend a title or be stripped of it when they have managers to take care of their careers and the business side of things.

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Those individuals get paid 15% of a boxer's purse money. Part of their duties include making sure that their boxers are active.

Few managers really go beyond their job, in terms of looking after their boxers.

I am yet to hear that a trainer or manager is at odds with the taxman, yet many boxers - including SA's only 13-time world champion Vuyani Bungu - owed SARS millions of rands.

What was his manager, Mzimasi Mnguni, actually managing if he could not assist Bungu with his tax matters?

Managers must ensure that champions defend within specified periods or at least communicate with BSA's championship committee if the boxer has problems.

Osborne Machimana has just vacated his heavyweight title because he cannot defend within 30 days.

Lightweight Mzonke Fana and light heavy-weight Ryno Liebenberg are two of the many national champions who must defend or lose their belts in boardrooms. They have not defended since 2015. Clearly their managers are failing them.

Of late, some trainers double up as managers and boxers allow that, yet it is against the Boxing SA Act of 2001 for a licensee to have two licences.

The idea behind trainers doubling up as managers is simple - to pocket the lion's share of a boxer's purse - in this case 25%.

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But gone are the days when boxing was associated with illiteracy.

Former IBF and IBO champion Lovemore Ndou is the country's first active boxer to graduate as a lawyer.

Ndou, from Musina in Limpopo, owns his Lovemore Lawyers firm in Australia, where he has lived since 1995.

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Just last week, former IBF junior welterweight female champion Noni Tenge from Mdantsane graduated with a degree in sports management.

BSA should actually permit some promoters, who get boxers' fights approved, to be their managers.

Tenge and Fana forfeited their IBF junior welterweight and junior lightweight straps for failing to defend.

What did their managers do?

Female boxers are made to wait for August - Women's Month - to dominate a boxing tournament. Other than that, they are inactive and would be lucky to feature in one bout at a male-dominated tournament.

A male boxer can earn R70000 a bout but a female will be lucky to get R20000. Why? Boxers must begin to attend indabas where they can voice their challenges or at best approach the dispute resolution committee - or else they will remain slaves and die paupers.

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