An interesting story about a footballer from KwaZulu-Natal who swapped his boots for boxing gloves is shaping up well.
Phikelelani Khumalo has already claimed the bragging rights as the provincial junior middleweight champion. He successfully defended his provincial title in a ninth-round stoppage of Siphiwe Ntombela.
That win earned Khumalo a No. 4 spot in the national rankings and he is now in line to challenge reigning South African middleweight king John “Section 29” Bopape.
“I am marching on, there is no turning back,” warned Khumalo, who is known as “Stinger” in the boxing space. “I am gunning for the SA middleweight title, so my message to John Bopape is that he must enjoy his reign while it lasts.”
Khumalo said he was not taken seriously when he left Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge in 2020 for boxing.
“There are no regrets and everything is coming on nicely; the first step (winning the KZN provincial title) has been a successful one; that was still part of development and we have rounds on our side now,” said Khumalo.
He tasted defeat in his fifth professional match on March 26 2022. Ushered to battle by trainer Vusi Mtolo, the left-hander from Mthwalume, south of Durban, bounced back even stronger by winning the KwaZulu-Natal title.
But a loss to Jackson Kaptein on December 11 2022 forced Khumalo to relocate to KZN where he teamed up with his father Mlindelwa Khumalo.
He said Mlindelwa enrolled him to the White Buffalo Gym of former IBF and WBF heavyweight world champ Francois Botha in Mhlanga, south of Durban.
Khumalo said his father is assisted in training by Botha and former SA lightweight champ Irvin “Pretty Boy” Buhlalu.
Already, they have recorded a win against Ntombela at Olve Convention Centre in Durban.
Khumalo cannot afford to lose any fight now that he is at the doorstep of challenging for the national title..
Another footballer who became a successful boxer is Katie Taylor. Arguably the world’s top female boxer, Taylor is also a former Republic of Ireland international footballer.
The ex-winger starred for Peamount United in the late 2000s yet missed her side’s FAI Women’s Cup final in 2009 to be crowned Europe’s best amateur fighter.
Former soccer player gunning for SA middleweight title
Khumalo has no regrets at swapping sporting codes
Image: James B Gradidge
An interesting story about a footballer from KwaZulu-Natal who swapped his boots for boxing gloves is shaping up well.
Phikelelani Khumalo has already claimed the bragging rights as the provincial junior middleweight champion. He successfully defended his provincial title in a ninth-round stoppage of Siphiwe Ntombela.
That win earned Khumalo a No. 4 spot in the national rankings and he is now in line to challenge reigning South African middleweight king John “Section 29” Bopape.
“I am marching on, there is no turning back,” warned Khumalo, who is known as “Stinger” in the boxing space. “I am gunning for the SA middleweight title, so my message to John Bopape is that he must enjoy his reign while it lasts.”
Khumalo said he was not taken seriously when he left Golden Arrows and Maritzburg United in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge in 2020 for boxing.
“There are no regrets and everything is coming on nicely; the first step (winning the KZN provincial title) has been a successful one; that was still part of development and we have rounds on our side now,” said Khumalo.
He tasted defeat in his fifth professional match on March 26 2022. Ushered to battle by trainer Vusi Mtolo, the left-hander from Mthwalume, south of Durban, bounced back even stronger by winning the KwaZulu-Natal title.
But a loss to Jackson Kaptein on December 11 2022 forced Khumalo to relocate to KZN where he teamed up with his father Mlindelwa Khumalo.
He said Mlindelwa enrolled him to the White Buffalo Gym of former IBF and WBF heavyweight world champ Francois Botha in Mhlanga, south of Durban.
Khumalo said his father is assisted in training by Botha and former SA lightweight champ Irvin “Pretty Boy” Buhlalu.
Already, they have recorded a win against Ntombela at Olve Convention Centre in Durban.
Khumalo cannot afford to lose any fight now that he is at the doorstep of challenging for the national title..
Another footballer who became a successful boxer is Katie Taylor. Arguably the world’s top female boxer, Taylor is also a former Republic of Ireland international footballer.
The ex-winger starred for Peamount United in the late 2000s yet missed her side’s FAI Women’s Cup final in 2009 to be crowned Europe’s best amateur fighter.
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