Controversy casts pall on important weekend

PROTESTS and cries of “we wuz robbed” reverberated through the boxing fraternity this past weekend.

It was one of the busiest weekends in SA boxing, with at least five tournaments held in East London and Gauteng.

And the controversy reared it ugly head when ring officials seemed to capture the spotlight with questionable decisions.

It first started in East London on Friday when a bout featuring an SA junior bantamweight crown between crowd favourite Yanga Sigqibo and visiting Cape Town boxer Sabelo Ngebiyane ended with both boxers believing they had won.

The stakes were high in the bout, which was conceived on social media.

And Ngebiyane was the aggressor throughout, a style which some judges interpret as winning the bout.

But Sigqibo’s supporters, who commanded almost half of the hall, felt their man had won.

Fight promoter Ayanda Matiti also weighed in, in favour of his charge.

“I re-watched the fight and I still cannot understand how people would see Sigqibo losing,” he said.

There was almost unison in Sunday’s bout between Lerato Dlamini and Sydney Maluleke in Pretoria.

The WBC International featherweight title was at stake and both boxers went at each other with everything they had. Dlamini escaped with a split decision, but there were wild protest by Maluleke handlers live on television.

The matter was further worsened by what seemed to be a discussion by BSA chief Tsholofelo Lejeka, board chairperson Dr Peter Ngatane, BSAGauteng manager Archie Nyingwa, fight promoter Rodney Berman and boxing scribe Bongani Magasela.

Social media jumped to the conclusion that the group was trying to alter the outcome.

Lejaka shot down the allegations, describing them as outrageous. But he admitted that there had been general unhappiness about the performance of the ring officials.

Of the group discussion, he said: “There was a discrepancy with the tallying on points after Maluleke was docked a point. The final scorecard seemed to miss the deducted point and that was what was going on.”

Again in East London, handlers of Duncan Village boxer Mbulelo Dyani cried robbery after their charge was adjudged a loser on points against Toto Helebe in a bantamweight title clash.

Dyani’s promoter Thando Zonke said he had filed an official complaint to BSA on behalf of his boxer, demanding a rematch.

But Lejaka said his office had yet to receive the written complaint.

However he blasted Maluleke’s handlers for protesting live on TV when there were other channels.

“And they were protesting the outcome, but about the referee who docked a point from Maluleke and did nothing when Dlamini was holding.” and his