Calls mount for stricter licensing of boxing promoters after Durban debacle

The licensing and proper vetting of promoters by Boxing South Africa (BSA) has again fallen under the microscope following the cancellation on Wednesday of the highly anticipated IBF flyweight world championship fight between champion Moruti Mthalane and unbeaten Filipino challenger Jayson Mama.

This time it wasn’t the feared Covid-19 pandemic which floored the tournament, billed “The Homecoming” at the Durban ICC, but the inability of promoter Nokwanda Mbatha’s fledgling Tono Promotions to lodge the fighters’ purses by the required deadline prior to the tournament.

Mthalane (39-2-26), trained by Colin Nathan at the Hotbox Gym in Savoy, Johannesburg, holds the highly-regarded IBF version of the flyweight title and was due to make the fourth defence of the title he has held since 2018.

In line with the Boxing Act and the regulations governing the sport, however, purse monies for tournaments are required to be deposited with BSA at least 30 days before a tournament or any other day specified by BSA.

“In this instance, we had given the promoter an extension until 11 December as the latest date to lodge the purses. Unfortunately by close of business last Friday we had not received the purse monies, so procedurally we issued a cancellation letter,” explained BSA acting chief executive Cindy Nkomo.

“It then becomes the promoter’s responsibility to communicate with the contracted boxers, their teams and any other stakeholders involved in the tournament.”

Nkomo mentioned that BSA were not in the habit of embarrassing licensees, but in this instance the promoter had neglected to alert the fighters or their management of the cancellation and Mthalane’s opponent, Mama, had already arrived in the country, so the national controlling body was forced to step in and manage the situation.

“We were left with no other option but to take over and communicate the cancellation officially and manage the consequences by putting out a release offering an unreserved apology to all stakeholders involved,” she said.

Nkomo did show a distinct leaning towards stricter vetting and licensing conditions in future for prospective promoters.

“Each and every promoter that enters into the boxing space should go through a development process so they can build a proven record at development level before graduating to national or international tournaments,” she suggested.

One thing that Nkomo agreed with is that it is unacceptable to allow these practices to continue with impunity or without ramifications, though she would not go so far as to suggest that such measures may include banning or revoking of a licence.

 “This is gross misconduct and we certainly have to deal with it in a certain way if we are serious about bringing back prestige into the sport and making sure we have quality sanctioning and quality delivery of tournaments. BSA has been very lenient, tried all we can to work with promoters, but we certainly need a turnaround.

“By the same token, we have to be careful not to try do everything at once and then not do it right. Boxing has gone through a period where a number of things didn’t go right and we have to go back to the basics.”

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