Amateurs play their part for ‘Tata’

While the world’s boxing focus shifts to Mthatha this weekend, the Eastern Cape’s renowned boxing battleground, Orient Theatre, will not be left out.

With almost every boxing event attaching itself to the name of former late statesman Nelson Mandela – with at least three events taking place this weekend – East London will also host its own Mandela boxing show when it stages the “Madiba Cup amateur tournament”.

The tournament started yesterday with the finals set for tomorrow where at least five countries will battle it out for the coveted trophy.

Set to coincide with the arrival of an amateur boxing delegation from German’s province of Lower Saxony, the tournament will also involve boxers from Botswana, Swaziland and Mozambique.

The Mandela Cup concept started in Port Elizabeth in 2016, but took a break last year due to the launch of the amateur boxing league which involves all nine provinces.

With this year schedule running in conjunction with Mandela’s centenary birthday celebrations, the competition has returned with fanfare, although on a smaller scale.

“We do not want to go big as yet on this concept as other countries are still grappling with having to avail boxers,” said SA National Boxing Organisation (Sanabo) president Andile Mofu.

But this year’s edition has punched off when countries are selecting teams to represent them at the Olympic qualifiers, making it easier to test their teams.

For instance, Sanabo also selected its own team after the national elite championships in Secunda last week.

The championships won by an Eastern Cape team, will now provide a team to do battle at the Orient Theatre, with at least 15 members making up the SA team. “We will also be testing our own team to gauge its readiness when we start competing at international championships,” said Mofu.

Boxers competed in 17 bouts yesterday with the results not yet released at the time of going to print.

Mofu predicted that the Mandela Cup will be part of the African boxing calendar going forward as expectations are for it to grow in leaps and bounds.

“We want to cement its status in the SADC region first before rolling it out to the entire continent.”

We want to cement its status in SADC region first before rolling it out