![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/WHLMKQQ5OVEY5OLPYI2P45DSE4.png\")
Thubalethu Boxing Club’s world and Africa medallist Oyisa Wanga, left, and fellow fighter Silumko Pokili\n (Supplied) <\/p>\n
Conservation has been the catalyst in a poor corner of Nelson Mandela Bay where a boxing club has received a major makeover, and a local legend and his team are creating opportunities for SA\u2019s youth.<\/p>\n
Alerted by Nyosi Wildlife Reserve, situated next to the Kariega township of KwaNobuhle, global conservation and travel platform The EcoVenturist sat down with Thubalethu Boxing Club president Mazizi Vumazonke \u2014 and the rest is history.<\/p>\n
The famous but threadbare gym, led by Vumazonke, who has worked for 20 years without a salary, has produced five international medallists and 16 national champions. <\/p>\n
And now, with a R118,500 refurbishment, plus for the first time salaries for the staff going forward — their aim is to push even harder.<\/p>\n
The EcoVenturist founder Paul Gardiner said the relationship between privately owned Nyosi and the KwaNobuhle community laid the foundation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the reserve has expanded, it has become an important source of employment and skills development for local residents, demonstrating how conservation and community upliftment can work hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thubalethu Boxing Club’s world and Africa medallist Oyisa Wanga, left, and fellow fighter Silumko Pokili
\n (Supplied) <\/p>\n
He said after Nyosi introduced The EcoVenturist to Vumazonke, he and his team had visited Thubalethu, which means \u201cour opportunity\u201d in isiXhosa.<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind the champions and success stories stood a facility struggling with deteriorating infrastructure, limited resources and years of under-investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were shocked at how desperate conditions were. For instance, some of the young boxers were being forced to share mouth guards. <\/p>\n
\u201cHere was SA\u2019s highest-ranked boxing referee producing champions and mentoring young people at the highest level, yet the athletes lacked access to some of the most basic equipment required to train safely. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut every afternoon, dozens of these young athletes would arrive to train. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt brought home just how much these guys were achieving despite the odds stacked against them.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/RKSCBZCIAVHXTCPHFRMG2K3LDQ.jpeg\")
Thubalethu Boxing Club member Kungawo Majubane, 14, lets fly on the punch bag (Supplied) <\/p>\n
He said when he heard locals referring to Vumazonke as \u201cthe Rassie Erasmus of boxing\u201d, it immediately made sense. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur much-loved Springbok coach, from nearby Despatch, has been building world champion rugby players, and Mazizi has been doing the same for boxing in KwaNobuhle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that two such influential sporting figures have emerged from the same small corner of the Eastern Cape is remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vumazonke, 39, said he was born and raised in KwaNobuhle and, as a young aspiring boxer, he joined Thubalethu, which was founded in 1988 by former SA junior lightweight champ Mpikhaya \u201cPhantom Killer\u201d Mbaduli.<\/p>\n
He said when Mbaduli was tragically murdered, the club started to decline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lack of leadership and in 2005 I hung up my gloves and stepped across into a management role, and I have never stopped since then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gardiner said The EcoVenturist, determined to improve the club, leveraged its international network, and introduced UK-based investment company Ranmore Fund Management, together with its South African charitable initiative Helpmore SA, to the project.<\/p>\n
Within weeks, a partnership was formed between these three entities, together with Nyosi Wildlife Reserve and, within just two months, the gym underwent a complete renovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe upgrades included structural improvements, plumbing, lighting, new training equipment, boxing gear, team kit and a comprehensive refurbishment that has transformed the facility into a professional training environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cImportantly, the support has also ensured that athletes now have access to essential equipment that was previously in short supply, including new mouth guards, boxing gloves and head gear, allowing them to train more safely and with greater confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time, the coaching staff are also receiving regular financial support for their tireless dedication to developing young athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the refurbished club on Friday, Vumazonke said he and his team were deeply grateful for the help they had received.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith these renovations, we have been able to increase our intake, so we now have 56 boys and girls who we are training.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe renovation and other support we have got from Paul and all the partners has been amazing. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have never seen such heart from anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Conservation has been the catalyst in a poor corner of Nelson Mandela Bay where a boxing club has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":744562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,15736,266831,261780,266830,82],"class_list":["post-744561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-conservation","tag-ecoventurist","tag-kwanobuhle","tag-nyosi","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}