Promoter promises to pay outstanding purse
Buthelezi fought, won and was never paid
East London top boxing promoter Ayanda Matiti has made a heartfelt plea to IBO junior bantamweight champion Gideon “Hardcore” Buthelezi to patiently wait for the money he owes him.
The purses the boxers signed to be part of his tournament in East London had been paid, said Matiti, noting that they included Buthelezi who headlined the bill on July 27.
“Whatever is remaining is between me and Gideon and that has nothing to do with BSA [Boxing South Africa].
“I am waiting to be paid by Buffalo City municipality,” said Matiti.
He had partnered with the municipality for the Nelson Mandela centenary celebrations which is yet to release the sponsorship money Matiti had requested.
“Do I owe Gideon? Yes. Am I going to pay Gideon? Yes. I understand Gideon’s frustration. I also have my own challenges and I hope people understand me too.
“I am not running away. This thing will be resolved.”
Buffalo City municipality council speaker Alfred Mtsi said: “Matiti applied for a donation and he followed due processes. There were delays. But, in a nutshell, the council took a decision to approve the donation and the matter was referred to the legal services unit for scrutiny.
“If there are no legal challenges the approval of the sponsorship will be processed and Matiti will receive it. We have not [yet] received the response from the unit.”
Buthelezi said BSA paid him a fraction of what he had originally signed for, noting that he was yet to get the balance.
Buthelezi was paid R20 000 which he signed for as the second contract after his fight. BSA paid that amount to him.
Trainer Elias Tshabalala said their first contract was for R450 000.
“There were problems regarding purses not being deposited and the tournament was cancelled. We were then convinced by BSA board members Peter Ngatane and Khulile Radu to continue with the fight,” Tshabalala told Sowetan.
“They assured us that Matiti will pay us. We fought and then signed the second contract of R20 000. Our balance is R430 000. We are not fighting with anybody; we just want our money.”
‘‘ We are not fighting anybody; we just want our money