EVATON.- The Sedibeng Boxing Organisation (SBO) in conjunction with the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) Sports Department will host a boxing development tournament at Evaton Central Boxing Club on Saturday.
This was revealed to Sedibeng Ster Sport by SBO Coordinator, Thanduxolo Madikizela who promises fireworks come Saturday. Speaking to Sedibeng Ster Sport, Madikizela said that this will be the first boxing tournament to take place this year. He noted that the main aim of the tournament is to promote more boxing clubs in Sedibeng. Madikizela said at the moment SBO has ten boxing clubs and they want to increase the number. The clubs that will take part in this development tournament are from Rus-Ter-Vaal, Sebokeng, Evaton, Sharpeville and other areas within the Sedibeng region.
Madikizela told Sedibeng Ster Sport that there is a lot that needs to be achieved to take boxing to another level in this region.
He said one of the SBO’s priorities is to have female boxing judges and referees. According to Madikizela, they want to see women more involved in the development of boxing in this region not only female boxers but in terms of officiating. He also raised a concern about the lack of interest from co-operates to get involved in the development of football in this region. He told Sedibeng Ster Sport that boxing needs assistance in terms of resources and equipment.
“It’s that time of the year when our boxers must go to the boxing championships and this is our biggest challenge because our boxers have to travel to Pretoria for three days of the tournament. We have no choice because they can’t avoid not to have accommodation. We want to appeal to our local companies and businesses to come on board to inject some life into the development of boxing. This is our biggest challenge and as a result of this our boxers end up nowhere and some of them end up giving up. We also appeal to parents to play their part in their children’s careers because boxing can change their lives for the better,” he concluded.
