Boxing is an artform that needs constant work to keep that ring charm

Art can loosely be defined as the ability or a gift to create something of beauty out of nothing. Art can also take many shapes and sizes, emanating from a state of nothingness to a marvellous and timeless work of art.

Not many people can relate boxing to any artform and those who can will probably overlook the formative stages where boys, who had never put on a pair of boxing gloves in their lives, are moulded and carved into rare gems and superstars.

The actual art in boxing is in the teaching; the ability to get into the mind of the child who knows absolutely mothing about boxing and synchronise it with the body to create a boxing marvel. That is where the art is.

Boxing as an artform, indeed flourishes out of nothing considering the fact there is still a majority of boxers who train in dilapidated buildings with no light and running water, provincial and national champions are produced under these harsh circumstances year in and year out.

A large number of boxing clubs started out in school classrooms and many of those schools had no lights and the space to accommodate boxers was almost nonexistent.

Boxing was very popular then and it was the sport of choice for many boys and young men in the townships, so how the trainers managed to accommodate and give attention to each and every boxer is still a mystery.

Boxers were disciplined and had such a strong desire to learn and master the art that they squeezed into that tiny classroom every single day without fail.

There were daily chores that were in place for boxers. For instance, boxers had to arrive in the gym early to move the desks and stack them in a manner that created space to train.

Training equipment, obviously, could not be kept in the makeshift boxing gyms as they were school classes by day and boxing gyms by night. So there had to be boxers tasked with collecting the equipment, gloves, headguards mostly, from the trainers house to the gym and back again, after training.

All sorts of compromises had to be made in the process of creating the works of art that was to be displayed to the boxing loving masses.

It is also important to note that a number of the boxers who trained under these circumstances had never been exposed to the actual four-cornered boxing ring.

The only time they came across a ring was on the day of the fight. Sparring sessions were conducted on a candlelit, tiny, slippery, tiled, classroom floor that had to be mopped constantly due to the immense heat and sweat of the boxers.

There were no other fancy training equipment like today. You were lucky to find a dumbbell here and there and a few rusty weights here and there.

The masses only saw a finished product in the fight. The compromises and sacrifices that boxers and their trainers had to make were safely hidden under a veil of beautiful boxing and an excpetional level of fitness.

Boxing, with so much lack of resources, really became an artform because everything had to be done from scratch.

There were no fancy machines to facilitate fitness. There were no personal trainers, no specialised eating plans like today. Boxers only had to be disciplined and dedicated to working hard.

The Vuyani Bungus, Welcome Ncitas, Zolile Mbityis, Tembile Lubisis, Patrick Qukas and many others who flourished under these circumstances truly gave meaning to boxing being an artform.

The trainers, are the true architects who managed to carve such timeless works of art, there are too many to mention but their works speak volumes and continue to live on.