Zanele crowned Gauteng Champion
KwaThema - Boxer Smangele Rhadebe (24) has been crowned the new champion of the Gauteng Provincial Bantum weight Championship.
She has made history by being the first woman in Ekurhuleni to win this championship.
She fought Melissa Miller, from the Eastern Cape, over the weekend in Kempton Park.
She says this is the happiest time in her life because she has been preparing for the fight for months.
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“I knew that the fight was going to be difficult because this was not the first time I was meeting her in the ring but I lost once and drew in our previous fights,” she says.
“I have been working hard and preparing to win this match because I don’t want to undermine her strength in the ring,” she says.
Trainer Themba Zulu says she won through a knock-out in the eighth round.
“She was able to collect eight points during the fight,” he says.
The proud trainer says he is very happy that Smangele represented the province well.
“We trained very hard and sometimes in the bushes while the gym was being renovated.
“We couldn’t allow ourselves to lose focus on the main prize,” he says.
• Also read: Introducing boxing to locals
Themba says they are calling the community to support boxing as one of the sporting activities in the area.
“The gym will be re-opened soon and we are calling on young people from the age of eight to enrol,” he says.
