Top promoter faces ban

Tournament with R800k BCM support on hold

BOXING promoter Andile Sidinile was awarded R800 000 by Buffalo City Metro, but is not allowed to hold the tournament the metro has sponsored.

The East London boxing promoter is facing a disciplinary hearing in which he is accused of not paying boxers earlier this year.

This was revealed by Boxing South Africa’s (BSA) chief executive Tsholofelo Lejaka who told the Daily Dispatch this week that BSA eventually had to pay the boxers owed up to R1.3-million by Sidnile’s Sijuta Promotions and Mamali Promotions out of its own coffers.

Although Sidinile is in the red book with his authorities, his company managed to get approval of BCM’s sponsorship from a special council meeting on Friday.

In reaction, Lejaka said: “I don’t want to comment on the Sijuta and BCM matter because I don’t have the official information but according to the rule book a promoter will not be allowed to host another tournament while we are still sorting out his disciplinary hearing.

“We are dealing with this according to the rule book and yes he [Sidinile] has been charged and is undergoing a disciplinary process.”

Lejaka said that Sidinile together with Siphatho Handi of Mamali Promotions would be required to reimburse BSA for the R1.3-million the regulatory body is paying the boxers on their behalf.

Mamali is currently suspended from the federation and a date for Sidinile’s hearing is still unknown.

Sidinile’s pending case with the BSA is in connection with the failure to pay some of the boxers who participated in his April tournament at Orient Theatre.

The tournament was organised as part of the Fort Hare University’s Centenary celebrations.

However, he could not pay some boxers who fought there, including Xolisani Ndongeni, who subsequently brought legal action to recover his payment.

Asked about the implications of his pending disciplinary case for his BCM sponsored tournament, Sidinile said: “I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t know the new date for my tournament yet because I still need to discuss the new date with BCM. I don’t know when the disciplinary hearing will be done because it is the first time I hear of it from you.”

Asked if he had applied for a new date to host a tournament from BSA, Sidinile said: “That is between me and BSA and it does not concern you as it has nothing to do with you. My tournament will go ahead.”

The promoter had initially applied to host the tournament on December 9.

BCM mayoral spokesman Ayabulela Ngoqo said the metro did not want to comment about how Sidinile managed to get funding from the metro while he had a pending case against him with BSA.

“That is between BSA and the promoter and as the metro it has nothing to do with us. The promoter told us he did not know anything about the case against him.

“Let us let the process unfold before we can be able to comment as the municipality,” said Ngoqo.

ANC opposition parties last week walked out of the council meeting where the Sijuta sponsorship was approved with four others amounting to R3.7-million, stating the approval was “dodgy” and “had loopholes”. —