Boxing SA must make a concerted effort to go and search for talent, especially women, says avid boxing fan Carlene Stainbank. Stainbank says lack of female representation in tournaments she has attended is obvious.

‘I am not just about [being] female in boxing but I love the sport generally,” she said. “My observation is that there is not enough women bouts in tournaments and that has nothing to do with lack of talent but lack of sourcing that talent. The only time I saw females boxing was for Women’s Month in Sandton where ESPN Africa staged it in August.

“There were like four fights and that was my first time seeing so many female bouts. In some tournaments there is not even a single women bout and I ask myself why is that the case.”

This has forced a number of promoters to match some boxers three times against each other, and that is short changing fight fans. For example, Ellen Simwaka from Malawi, has fought most of all available local fighters – Bukiwe Nonina, Sharadene Fortuin (twice), Smangele Hadebe (three times), Melissa Miller (twice) and Gabisile Tshabalala (twice) due to scarcity of opponents.

Simwaka will be in action on December 9 at the Galleria Conference Centre in Sandton, Johannesburg, against Sandisiwe Nxokwana. Their fight, which will be over eight rounds, is part of The Walt Disney Company SA bill, the company's last tournament of the year .

Stainbank says the excuse that there are not enough women fighters does not make sense to her. “There should be someone tasked with searching for talent. What will happen when the current crop of females are no longer able to fight? Women boxing will become a commodity that will soon become extinct.”

She added: “With male fighters you get older guys who are soon going to retire and already there is new talent ready to take over; the same can be done with females.”