Fighters walking tightrope

Champions to lose titles if they fail to renew licences

BOXING SA has issued a warning to boxers holding their titles that they risk getting stripped if they do not renew their licences by March 31.

The warning comes after the regulatory body opened a licence renewal window for the current financial year.

BSA’s Cindy Nkomo said the warning was also involving boxers who are not title-holders.

“Everybody will be affected by this and we urge everyone to go to their provincial offices to renew licences,” she said.

However over the years BSA has had to bow down to demands of extension as the majority of boxing licensees only renew their licences when they have fights lined up.

But Nkomo said such request would not be accommodated this year as BSA wants to tighten up operations including finances.

She emphasised that the move was not conceived by BSA but was part of the regulations.

While her threats might be taken lightly, BSA actually enforced this regulation last year when it affected then SA super-middleweight champion Lee Dyer of KwaZulu-Natal.

This after Dyer lost out a nomination for fight of the year against Alfonso Tissen due to his failure to renew his licence.

The thrilling bout could have easily bagged a fight of the year award at the recent national boxing awards ceremony in Port Elizabeth but due to compliance issues it missed out.

The call by BSA is expected to reignite disgruntlement in boxing circles following complaints that the majority of boxers who graduated to the professional ranks last year did not get action.

Top boxing matchmaker Luyanda Kana, who won the matchmaker of the year award in PE, has previously called on BSA to waive the licence renewal fee for boxers who did not get action last year.

“I think BSA needs to seriously consider waiving the licence renewal fee for the boxers who did not get fights,” he said.

But Nkomo said it would be impossible for BSA to consider the move as it would go against regulations.

“We sympathise with the boxers who could not get fights last year,” she said.

“But we cannot simply allow them not to pay renewal fee. I think boxing stakeholders need to find a common solution to this challenge.”

Already BSA has started with the graduation of amateurs boxers to the professional ranks in Gauteng and Limpopo two weekends ago with PE hosting its own graduation ceremony this past weekend.

East London, which often supplies the biggest number of aspirant professional boxers, will hold its graduation ceremony on Sunday.

Since the demise of Baby Champs – a BSA development programme coined to keep boxers active – newlygraduated boxers have struggled to get action contributing to the dwindling standard of the sport

Boxing licensees are required to pay R250 for both boxers and seconds, R750 for national and international champions, R2 050 for development promoters, R3 050 for those looking to organise national titles fights, and R5 050 for international promoters.

Managers and trainers will have to fork out R550 while ring officials’ payment will range between R250 and R750 according to their grades.

Boxers over 35 years old will be required to undergo a brain scan examinations before being allowed to renew.