Former SA light heavyweight non-white boxing champion James “Dynamite” Mathatho does not remember that it was today, 48 years ago, when he was involved in a historic match that broke the shackles of apartheid
Mathatho from Moletjie village in Limpopo was involved in the first multiracial SA title fights held at the Rand Stadium.
Mathatho, 90, lost to Gerrie Coetzee with a seventh round knockout on November 27 1976. Together with soccer, rugby and track and field athletics, boxing became a protagonist in dismantling apartheid.
Mixed bouts between South Africans were legalised in 1977, but it was not until two years later that the last vestiges of the colour bar disappeared when the system of white, black and supreme titles were mercifully done away with.
With the abolition of race distinction in boxing, in January 1979 SA had a truly undisputed champion irrespective of race or colour in each division.
As a result of these changes, all SA fighters were given the opportunity to challenge for world titles.
Said Mathatho: “That fight against Gerrie has history. It was tough with apartheid still very much alive. Gerrie went in there to show his white people how to beat up a black man, and I wanted to show my people how to beat up a white man.
“But I was not a fully fledged heavyweight. I was a light heavyweight champion. Judges in our historic fight were all white and the referee was also a white man. The atmosphere at Rand Stadium was okay. Fans, black and white, were also there, sitting next to each other for the first time.”
Mathatho, who was trained by Sam Monane from Alexandra, said he was not scared to lay his hands on Coetzee.
“I believe fans missed out on what would have been very good boxing fights between black and white fighters all because of apartheid,” said Mathatho.
“There were very good white boxers and there were very good black fighters, and if you match them against each other we would have had super boxing fights which would have prepared a number of black and white fighters to the world. I fought my whole career under Sam Monane [who later became a top promoter].”
SowetanLIVE
Mathatho the first African boxer to fight multi-racial match in SA
Nonagenarian relives fight with Coetzee in 1976
Image: SUPPLIED
Former SA light heavyweight non-white boxing champion James “Dynamite” Mathatho does not remember that it was today, 48 years ago, when he was involved in a historic match that broke the shackles of apartheid
Mathatho from Moletjie village in Limpopo was involved in the first multiracial SA title fights held at the Rand Stadium.
Mathatho, 90, lost to Gerrie Coetzee with a seventh round knockout on November 27 1976. Together with soccer, rugby and track and field athletics, boxing became a protagonist in dismantling apartheid.
Mixed bouts between South Africans were legalised in 1977, but it was not until two years later that the last vestiges of the colour bar disappeared when the system of white, black and supreme titles were mercifully done away with.
With the abolition of race distinction in boxing, in January 1979 SA had a truly undisputed champion irrespective of race or colour in each division.
As a result of these changes, all SA fighters were given the opportunity to challenge for world titles.
Said Mathatho: “That fight against Gerrie has history. It was tough with apartheid still very much alive. Gerrie went in there to show his white people how to beat up a black man, and I wanted to show my people how to beat up a white man.
“But I was not a fully fledged heavyweight. I was a light heavyweight champion. Judges in our historic fight were all white and the referee was also a white man. The atmosphere at Rand Stadium was okay. Fans, black and white, were also there, sitting next to each other for the first time.”
Mathatho, who was trained by Sam Monane from Alexandra, said he was not scared to lay his hands on Coetzee.
“I believe fans missed out on what would have been very good boxing fights between black and white fighters all because of apartheid,” said Mathatho.
“There were very good white boxers and there were very good black fighters, and if you match them against each other we would have had super boxing fights which would have prepared a number of black and white fighters to the world. I fought my whole career under Sam Monane [who later became a top promoter].”
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