Nice gesture, Gayton, but boxing’s officials deserve a fair fight

How veteran ring officials were left out when sport minister Gayton McKenzie honoured boxing legends this week remains a mystery.

SA once had respected ring officials like Joe Horn, Jaap van Niewenhuizen, Alfred “Kid Bassie” Buqwana, Clement Martins, Wally Snowball, Gordon “Prince” Goba, Len Hunt, Godfrey Meje, Sazi Xamlashe, Lulama Mtya, Phillip Durandt, Freddie Makhathini, Lizbeth Thela, Sylvia Maphangule, Siya Vabaza, Sylvia Mokaila, Morris “Yankee” Mohloai, Francis Manning, Terrence “Ace” Makaluza, Lulama Mtya and Thabo Spampool.

Horn, Buqwana, Hunt, Manning, Xamlashe, Maphangule, Makhathini, Goba and Makaluza have passed on. 

Jaap van Niewenhuizen has been in boxing since 1958.

Morris “Yankee” Mohloai boxed professionally from 1971 to 1982 and held the SA welterweight title. He retired in 1972. The Sowetan, who failed in his attempt to unseat Harold “The Hammer” Volbrecht as the reigning SA welterweight king at Ellis Park Tennis Stadium in 1978, became a top boxing judge.

Lulama Mtya has served boxing in capacities as a referee and judge with distinction since 1994. The gentle giant from East London still continues doing what he loves most.

Thabo Spampool was a judge when Lennox Lewis lost his WBC heavyweight belts with a fifth-round knockout by Hasim Rahman at Carnival City in Brakpan on April 22, 2001.

Minister McKenzie gave 36 boxing legends R80,000 each during the dinner he had with them in Pretoria on Monday evening.

The little he could do for ring officials was to give them two new sets of uniforms and announce that his department would add an extra R2,000 to their remunerations from their promoters.

McKenzie’s gesture is commendable, but the fact is ring officiating here is a thankless job.

These ladies and gentlemen of high nobility deserve to be honoured and that gesture will encourage those who are still around to soldier on despite all the trials and tribulations that come with being ring officials.

In boxing, the referee is crucial for ensuring fair play and the safety of the boxers, holding the sole authority to enforce rules, deduct points, issue warnings and, ultimately, stop a fight if a boxer is deemed at risk of serious injury.

If a boxing match did not end by a knockout, stoppage or disqualification, judges score thebout round by round to determine the winner.

Said McKenzie: “I was shocked when I heard that the referees didn’t have proper clothing. I was also told that referees were being paid R350 a match. We must not make people a laughing stock.

“I want to do it right. There will be no referee, no judge that will go into the ring without being paid R2,000, which will be underwritten by the department of sport, arts and culture. 

“For every boxing match, we will provide R2,000 in all nine provinces. Women judges will get the same amount the men are getting. There’s no discrimination.

“The money must not be paid after the boxing match, it must be paid before the bout happens.” 

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