Black people must support each other – Faas

Outspoken veteran boxing promoter David Faas says there is nothing to beat a big promoter with deep pockets and appealed to his “black brothers” who have benefited from BEE to do more to help promote the sport.

“If our black brothers who benefited from BEE can come on board and help us promote, we would also be called big promoters.”

“It’s all about having resources,” he said yesterday. “If you have resources, the sky is the limit and you will be glorified as being a big promoter, but if you don’t, then you are doomed – period.”

Faas trades under the Universal Boxing Promotions banner. “It is easy for a white promoter to organise box and dine events because they know that their friends in the corporate world will buy those expensive tickets and support them,” he said.

“White people support each other, but black people who have got money will never support another black brother because they think they will make you rich.

“l am not trying to cause sensationalism ... but the truth is if you’ve got resources, you will work well here [in SA] as a boxing promoter.”

Faas said the root cause of the lack of sufficient resources to promote boxing is the lack of support by TV stations, especially the SABC.

“Live broadcast dates will enable us as promoters to negotiate successfully with the corporate world, which wants maximum mileage [for their sponsorship],” he said. “Boxers must be paid decent purse monies, but we don’t have money.”

Faas said the lack of resources killed Joe Manyathi’s dream of staging a super heavyweight fight between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson planned for Nelson Mandela’s birthday in 2001. 

“Many black promoters produced national champions but could not take them any further because of financial constraints,” said Faas, who paid tribute to veteran promoter Thinus Strydom, who helped take Mzonke “The Rose of Khayelitsha” Fana to the UK, where he lost to Dean The Pitbull” Pithie for the WBC international junior-lightweight title.

Faas said his first national champ was the late Mzukisi “Laciar” Sikali and that he was the first promoter in SA to stage an IBF intercontinental title fight in the country when Vuyani “Wonderboy” Nene won the boxing sanctioning body’s flyweight belt against Indonesian Abdi Pohan at Centenary Hall, New Brighton, Gqeberha, in 1995.

“The crowd was unbelievable and Bert Blewett, who was doing commentary for SABC, said people must have confused that fight with a world title,” said Faas, who declared a bright future for his company regardless of the scarcity of resources.

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