The legend behind SA boxing's dine-and-wine fights
Veteran promoter still going strong
Some refer to him as possibly being one of the best small-hall promoters in the history of SA boxing. Others call him the man who is suffering from the boxing bug and doesn’t need any cure.
That is how best to describe Jeff Ellis, the 66-year-old who has seen and done it all in the fistic sport. Ellis has been a boxer, matchmaker, corner man, trainer and manager.
He is also credited for starting the box-and-dine, a concept which has brought new faces to the game. It is a blacktie affair where fans come dressing to the nines.
The events are usually held at venues such as casinos and hotels, where groups of supporters can buy corporate tables to watch the action while being served food and soft drinks during bouts.
His concept is working for veteran promoter Rodney Berman, the Golden Gloves boss who staged a tournament in Monte Carlo that featured Gennady Golovkin from Kazakhstan against Briton Martin Murray in 2015. Ellis’s African Ring and Berman’s Golden Gloves have presented many successful box-and-dine tournaments at Carnival City Casino in Brakpan and the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park.
“The concept of the box-and-dine began in the UK in 1966. When we started little shows called Company Combats [it] was all fun,” reminisced Ellis, who grew up in Mayfair, west of Johannesburg. “Loyiso Mtya [then BSA acting CEO] went to parliament and presented it and it was accepted. But it was my concept and the reason was to give punters at casinos a good time.” Ellis recalled doing “25 bouts, one after the other at Nasrec”. “That was my love for four-rounders which I believe are as good as a 10rounder. I am very much conscious of the dangers of boxing though, and that is why I make sure that I have a say in the matching of bouts. “I have a very support
‘‘ I would like to see the rights of the fighters being protected
ive wife [Marie]. If we both did not have the love of boxing, it would not have been such a success. We only learnt about real promoting when we worked with top guys like Rodney Berman, who I have worked with for 10 years now.”
Ellis has been a licensee since 1970. “I got my licence to box but I could not box until 1974. I am 47 years in boxing. I had my corner’s licence as well. I worked in the corner of Jan Kies when he lost to Elijah ‘Tap Tap’ Makhathini for the Supreme title at Rand Stadium in 1976. On the same bill Gerrie Coetzee beat James Mathatho on their heavyweight title.
“I still enjoy what I am doing,” he said, adding: “I would like to see the rights of the fighters being protected. It really hurts me most when a champion is stripped of his title because he has not defended the title.
“We used to have 65 championship title fights a year and that is how champions could defend their title so many times and eventually own belts. But that does not happen today, so champions cannot suffer for that.”
Ellis received King Korn/ SA Boxing World Meritorious Award in 1992. It was also Ellis who staged the first ABU title fight in SA when Thulani “Sugar Boy” Malinga won the super middleweight title against Ray Acquaye at Wild Coast Casino in 1994.