With a lull in the professional boxing calendar, amateurs fill the cards at two tournaments in KuGompo City (formerly East London) on Saturday.
At the Orient Theatre, Mpucuko Sports Development holds the third edition of its provincial tournament.
The event will be spiced up with an international bout between Joshua Badmus, from Irish boxing club Holy Family, and WSU student Inam Wayiza in a 60kg class match-up.
With 30 bouts featuring women boxers, the event is expected to provide young boxers with a platform to showcase their skills after qualifying from tournaments held at district levels.
Wayiza and Badmus will battle for the Ludumo Lamati belt.
The bout will serve as a yardstick to measure the progress of a partnership being forged by Mpucuko and the Holy Family Boxing Club.
Mpucuko director Ncedo Cecane said the Irish club would be a regular feature in future tournaments.
At the same time as the Orient Theatre fisticuffs, Newlands, in Nxahruni, will be hosting 30 boxers in a Lacoste Boxing Club tournament.
The event, also set to begin at 10am, will feature boxing clubs from Mdantsane Amateur Boxing Clubs.
Event organiser Khanya Cakatha-Yakhe said the tournament was aimed at keeping children in the area occupied.
“We were running a soup kitchen for kids in the area, but we realised that after they finished eating they did not have anything else to do, so we decided to introduce boxing to keep them occupied.”
The club has grown by leaps and bounds, producing talent that competes at high-profile tournaments in the province.
A case in point is Yamkela Kilani, voted ‘best boxer’ at the recent Steve Tshwete Games held in the city. Kilani will take part in the tournament.
The success of the tournament since it was launched two years ago has managed to secure a financial partnership with Premier Foods, which provides meals for officials and boxers.
“We also sponsor them with trophies and medals for winners as part of our community outreach programme,” Premier Foods’ Nomncedisi Njikelani said.
However, organising two events in different venues at the same time has been frowned upon in boxing circles, although Cakathe-Yakhe insisted the Nxarhuni show had been scheduled since as early as January.
“We also do not like this [two events] because they divide attention and split personnel.
“But we could not reschedule ours due to logistical challenges.”
Daily Dispatch