Amateurs all set to box
The Nelson Mandela Museum will become a hive of activity on Sunday
The Nelson Mandela Museum in Mthatha will become a of hive of activity on Sunday when amateur boxers from OR Tambo and Chris Hani district challenge each other in a battle for supremacy.
This will be to commemorate former state president Nelson Mandela's release from prison on February 11, 1990.
The fight will form part of a 15-bout tournament staged by new boxing promotions company Blaque Magic Promotions, founded by renowned Mthatha boxing trainer Mthetho Dumezweni, who has worked with some of the country's top boxers like IBO world champion Simphiwe Konkco and former bodybuilder and power lifting champion Xolani Mbotya, who also runs the popular Mthatha Health CLub.
The company is partnering with the Nelson Mandela Museum and the OR Tambo Amateur Boxing Organisation.
Mbotya said although they would have loved to have hosted the event on Monday next week, the challenge was that the boxers taking part were young schoolchildren.
"Our vision is to see young people being afforded a platform to showcase their Godgiven talents," he said.
"We decided to form the company last year as we were seeing the dearth of boxing at grassroots level."
Dumezweni, meanwhile, said the idea was to find promising talent and nurture it.
"Before there is a professional boxer, there is an amateur boxer out there who needs to be guided until they turn professional. We are passionate about developing young children.’’
For now the company focuses on three codes, boxing, bodybuilding and rugby.
Mbotya said they however wanted to spread their wings into all the corners of the former Transkei region in their quest to find untapped and raw talent.
In some areas, they have already partnered with municipalities to form boxing clubs.
"We then conduct coaching clinics and host local tournaments. We also make sure that we pay those areas regular visits just to check up on them," he said.
Dumezweni, who has worked with many young boxers who eventually turned professional, said the tournament on Sunday was a way of encouraging young boxers to aspire to walk in Madiba's footsteps and even surpass him if possible.
"Madiba was a boxer. We are basically trying to inspire these children to walk in his shoes and become even better than him," concluded Dumezweni.
The tournament starts at 10am and ends at 4pm.