Boxing row: A black eye for SA

SA boxing has suffered a massive black eye when the new board of Boxing South Africa (BSA) had to intervene after a local promoter failed to pay two international boxers.

The board will be tasked as a matter of priority with reviewing their vetting process for prospective boxing promoters after the embarrassing saga came to a head late on Tuesday.

Two Tanzanian female boxers and their manager-cum-matchmaker had been holed up at the Tanzanian high commission in Pretoria for 10 days awaiting payment by a South African promoter– but they were finally on their way home last night.

BSA board intervenes

The debacle was only resolved through the board’s intervention, with a payment of the agreed $5 200 (over R95 000) in unpaid wages and return flight tickets.

The boxers, Jesca Mfinanga, 25, and Egine Kayange, 29, both featured in the Fantastic 2 Boxing Promotions’ “History in the Making” tournament at the Kliprivierberg Recreation Centre in Kibler Park, south of Joburg, on 22 June.

They were due to return home the following day and were accompanied to SA by Tanzanian matchmaker Evarist Innocent.

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Another boxer, Pamela Matunga from Zimbabwe, whose bout with SA’s Melissa Miller was cancelled due to her opponent’s medical unavailability, was also unable to return home and has been staying with a friend in Glenvista, Johannesburg.

Mfinanga, failed to annex the African Boxing Union (ABU) female flyweight title from South Africa’s now world-rated champion, Simangele “Smash” Hadebe, and Kayange lost a fourth-round technical knockout decision to Monica Mkandla from Zimbabwe.

Foreign boxer’s payment responsibility of local promoter

In terms of boxing legislation, all local purses are lodged with BSA, which Fantastic 2 Promotions’ boss Elias Tshabalala and his associates duly did, as well as the ABU sanctioning fees. But payment of foreign boxers remained the full responsibility of the local promoter.

It has been generally accepted that foreign boxers are paid in cash after their fights or on the day of the weigh-in. The provision of return air tickets is another prerequisite.

The newly appointed executive of the BSA board settled the outstanding purses and made the appropriate travel arrangements.

It is unclear whether any additional compensation had to be paid for the additional days the visiting boxers were forced to spend in SA. Some have jobs which they were at risk of losing.

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“The board unanimously resolved to settle the outstanding purses of the Tanzanian boxers and book air tickets out of South Africa and close the matter,” said new BSA chair Sifiso Shongwe.

“We will recoup the costs from the promoter.”

Immaculate track record in the sport

Shongwe has an immaculate track record in the sport and is no stranger to the promotional business. He headed up Africa Boxing, which produced the highly successful – and now discontinued – ESPN Fight Nights in SA in 2022.

Describing the debacle as “disappointing”, Shongwe made it clear that “the promoter in question is not immune to sanctions and further action from the board”.

“The matter is still under investigation and the promoter has not as yet been charged. It is subject to disciplinary procedures and due process taking place.”

That former board’s three-year term expired on 12 December last year and the new board appointed on former sports minister Zizi Kodwa’s watch have many outstanding issues on their plate of both a legal and disciplinary nature.

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A major problem has been licensee debt and promoters failing to meet contractual obligations, as well as a number of violations of the Boxing Act. The current incident has exacerbated that.

‘Sponsorship delay’

BSA licensee Tshabalala was still adamant when approached by The Citizen that a “sponsorship delay” had been the primary cause of the nonpayment and that he had made a promise to the foreign boxers that he would fly them home as scheduled and the funds wired by EFT to Tanzania.

“I had a six-year relationship with my sponsors and took it as a given that the funds would be made available prior to the tournament. But by the date of the weigh-in [21 June] they let me down,” Tshabalala said, claiming “full transparency”.

“The foreign athletes were evidently instructed by their management, as well as the Tanzanian Boxing Commission on the scheduled day of departure back to Tanzania [June 24], not to leave the country until they were paid.

“The embassy fetched them without our consent,” Tshabalala said.