LIMPOPO – The Limpopo department of sport, arts and culture will continue to support boxing in order to make sure that the province still produces champions.
The department’s general manager, Veronica Choshane, addressed the guests during the gala dinner to honour Tsiko “The Cruel Junior” Mulovhedzi last Friday evening. Tsiko who won the IBO welterweight title recently, was happy for the gala dinner to welcome him in the sporting fraternity. He was congratulated for demolishing the defending champion Ali “Rush Hour” Funeka in five rounds to win the IBO welterweight belt at East London’s ICC Centre.Tsiko was born and raised in the Thohoyandou area at a village called Mbaleni outside Sibasa town. He is the son of a well-known traditional boxing legend called James “The Cruel” Ratshilumela. It was his father who instilled the love for boxing in him. As part of his genetics, it was also inherent for him to be a champ. From the tender age of 11, Tsiko started boxing at Musangwe seasonal games at well-known venues like Tshifudi and Tshitavha villages.
After he conquered the amateur boxing level, he enrolled at Makwarela Boxing Club under the mentorship of Ramasuvha who credits much of his champ’s success to his stable foundation that was laid by him. Tsiko fought at most local boxing competitions until he became a professional boxer through Mclouds Boxing Gym in Johannesburg in 2005. Starting from the junior welterweight division where he won seven of 10 fights, winning three with a TKO. In 2008 he upgraded to the welterweight division. In 2011, he joined the Nxums Boxing Gym where he had an international fight against Jeremy Joshua of Namibia. Since then he fought 24 bouts.
Tsiko joined Mabunda Boxing Gym under Charles Mabunda and John Chabalala in 2014 where he was signed by Ayanda Matiti as his promotor in April 2015. After holding the South African welterweight title, he set his eyes on the IBO welterweight title held by Funeka, which he can now proudly call his own.
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