Nelson Mandela may have died years ago, but his spirit lives on.
The former SA president will be celebrated as an aspirant boxer by the boxing fraternity at Soweto Communal Hall in Orlando which is few metres away from the Donaldson Orlando Community Centre (DOCC) which is now known as YMCA.
It is multi-functional and also used for indoor sporting events. Mandela trained and did boxing at the DOCC in the late 1940s to early 1950s.
Music icons including late Mirriam Makeba and Dolly Rathebe were regular performers there, and Soweto youth used it to plan the 1976 march.
Matiti – a former Eastern Cape provincial ANC Youth League chairman – had intended staging this tournament last month to coincide with Mandela’s birthday which is July 18. But Matiti’s failure to raise purse monies forced BSA board to cancel it.
Some of the bouts in his card – a box-and-dine affair – were supposed to have happened in the cancelled tournament.
The main bout is for the vacant IBF junior bantamweight title between Phumelela “The Truth” Cafu and Genesis Libranza of the Philippines over 10 rounds.
Libranza was here in 2017 and he lost in his attempt to oust Moruti “Baby Face” Mthalane as the IBO flyweight champion when Mthalane stopped him dead in his tracks in the fourth round of a bout that was staged at Wembley Arena by promoter Tshele Kometsi on April 28.
South African bantamweight champion Landi “Man Down” Ngxeke will welcome Argentinian Luciano Baldor over 10 rounds for the vacant WBO Global belt.
Reigning South African junior flyweight holder Mpumelelo Tshabalala will welcome Jesse Espinas of the Philippines in a nontitle bout over 10 rounds.
The tournament will be televised live by SuperSport from1.30pm
Meanwhile Boxing SA has officially invited interested individuals and licensees who could not attend the first phase and who did not succeed in the first compulsory training and assessment, to the second phase.
BSA said they must indicate confirmation of their attendance by way of correspondence addressed to BSA senior administrator, Lebo Morebudi, for verification purposes. The date for confirmation is the August 22 2023.
“Failure to adhere to the time limits will result in the application not being considered,” the statement read in part.
Boxing fraternity will honour Madiba in box-and-dine style
Mandela trained as gym boxer till 1950s to keep fit
Image: Supplied
Nelson Mandela may have died years ago, but his spirit lives on.
The former SA president will be celebrated as an aspirant boxer by the boxing fraternity at Soweto Communal Hall in Orlando which is few metres away from the Donaldson Orlando Community Centre (DOCC) which is now known as YMCA.
It is multi-functional and also used for indoor sporting events. Mandela trained and did boxing at the DOCC in the late 1940s to early 1950s.
Music icons including late Mirriam Makeba and Dolly Rathebe were regular performers there, and Soweto youth used it to plan the 1976 march.
Matiti – a former Eastern Cape provincial ANC Youth League chairman – had intended staging this tournament last month to coincide with Mandela’s birthday which is July 18. But Matiti’s failure to raise purse monies forced BSA board to cancel it.
Some of the bouts in his card – a box-and-dine affair – were supposed to have happened in the cancelled tournament.
The main bout is for the vacant IBF junior bantamweight title between Phumelela “The Truth” Cafu and Genesis Libranza of the Philippines over 10 rounds.
Libranza was here in 2017 and he lost in his attempt to oust Moruti “Baby Face” Mthalane as the IBO flyweight champion when Mthalane stopped him dead in his tracks in the fourth round of a bout that was staged at Wembley Arena by promoter Tshele Kometsi on April 28.
South African bantamweight champion Landi “Man Down” Ngxeke will welcome Argentinian Luciano Baldor over 10 rounds for the vacant WBO Global belt.
Reigning South African junior flyweight holder Mpumelelo Tshabalala will welcome Jesse Espinas of the Philippines in a nontitle bout over 10 rounds.
The tournament will be televised live by SuperSport from1.30pm
Meanwhile Boxing SA has officially invited interested individuals and licensees who could not attend the first phase and who did not succeed in the first compulsory training and assessment, to the second phase.
BSA said they must indicate confirmation of their attendance by way of correspondence addressed to BSA senior administrator, Lebo Morebudi, for verification purposes. The date for confirmation is the August 22 2023.
“Failure to adhere to the time limits will result in the application not being considered,” the statement read in part.
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