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MBABANE – Local boxers have a chance to win big at the African Boxing Championships (AfBC) in Yaounde, Cameroon.
The continental tournament, which features elite men and women boxers, will run from July 25 to August 6, this year. Eswatini Boxing Association (EBA) will send a team to represent the country in this 21st edition of the AfBC. EBA President Webster Lukhele, has urged the boxers to aim for a podium finish and aim for lucrative cash prizes.
The African boxing governing body has announced that the total prize money for the medallists has been doubled from E10 million (US$500 000) last year in Maputo to E18.4 million (US$1 million) this year in Yaounde.
This means that any local boxer, either in the men’s or women’s category, who wins a bronze medal, will pocket E91 876. Silver medallists will get E183 752, while gold medallists will walk away with E367 505.
Rewarded
In Maputo, the prize money for gold medallists was E183 752 and for silver it was E91 876. Bronze was rewarded with E45 938.
“We do encourage our boxers to target a podium finish and earn this money. They are capable as you may see that most of the time; our boxers lose to eventual podium finishers. We believe that they have this great opportunity to make more earnings out of the sport as we are trying to motivate them in tough economic times locally,” Lukhele said.
Among some of the big names in local boxing are Thabiso Dlamini, who is currently undergoing training in Russia in a high-performance facility. Eswatini is among almost 37 countries that have confirmed to compete in the AfBC. Other countries include DR Congo, Comoros, Egypt, Seychelles, Morocco, Algeria, Mozambique, Uganda, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Boxers from these countries will contest in various weight divisions, according to the rules and regulations. The AfBC has a total of 50 member countries affiliated to the African body. Last year, the championships were held in Maputo, Mozambique and brought together 179 boxers (58 women and 121 men) from 24 countries.