Where are SA’s world boxing champions?
Nontshinga a lone ranger with his IBF junior-fly belt
South Africa is doing badly in the production of genuine world boxing champions.
A country once respected for having about 40 world champions, holding the IBF, WBU and IBO belts, today has one legitimate world champion.
Some of the country’s old time greats have also held the WBA, WBO and WBC titles and that was during the apartheid era.
Right now, under the new dispensation, SA is scraping the barrel with Sivenathi Nontshinga being the only world champion. He holds the IBF junior-flyweight belt.
The current crop will not be able to carry the baton from those of the Y2K era because of a lack of proper development structures. The SA National Amateur Organisation has its own challenges, which have prevented them from producing quality fighters to represent the country at the Olympics.
This has been the case since 2008 when Jackson Chauke was the only representative on that global stage. The likes of Masibulele Makepula, Simpiwe Nongwayi, Zolani Marali, Silence Mabuza, Takalani Ndlovu, Phillip Ndou and Jeffrey Mathebula were great during their era because they went through proper development.
SA, through its massive talent, has participated in the Olympics since 1992 until Beijing in 2008.
One former top amateur Thulani Mbenge should have held either one of two world titles due to his abilities. But he could only settle for the lesser recognised IBO strap. At 31, the current SA welterweight champion is racing against time.
He will be in action in France on Saturday in an attempt to win the WBC silver belt. He faces Souleymane Diop Cissokho, a 31-year-oold Senegalese now based in France. They both won bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland and the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, respectively.
Mbenge and Cissokho are evenly matched. Mbenge has 15 knockouts in 19 wins against a loss while Cissokho is yet to taste defeat after 15 fights with nine knockouts. The belt they will be fighting for was created in 2010 with intentions to replace the interim title.