Passing of Lionel Hunter: Boxing tournament tinged with deep sadness

Friday evening’s fight for the vacant Gauteng women’s junior-welterweight title between Matshidiso Mokebisi and Ndubayini Kholosa will be tinged with a good deal of sadness.

The fight headlines the five-fight BRD Promotions card at the Turffontein Racecourse in Johannesburg.

Eastern Cape-born Kholosa fights under the Unleashed Combat Sports banner, whose head trainer Lionel Hunter, died Thursday following a short illness.

Hunter had been training Kholosa until taking ill recently and she will have coach Immanuel Mutavhatsindi calling the shots from her corner.

Assistant trainer Tamrin Raynor, herself a prodigy of Hunter, was also part of Kholosa’s team, but left the bio-secure hotel environment on Thursday morning when alerted about Hunter’s passing and in terms of the Covid-19 health protocols, was not permitted to return.

Raynor, who is passionate about the advancement of women’s boxing, was groomed from a very young age by the late Hunter and at age 18, became the youngest women ever granted a professional seconding licence by Boxing South Africa in 2018.

The unforeseen cancellation of the Gauteng men’s bantamweight title fight between Joshua Studdard and Thumelo Matsane during the week may have indirectly breathed life back into women’s boxing.

ALSO READ: Another setback for Studdard as he’s floored without throwing a punch

Kroonstad-born Mokebisi (11-8-1), under the tutelage of trainer Manny Fernades in Johannesburg, and her opponent Kholosa (13-7-0) will both be testing the water for the first time in the higher junior welterweight division.

Both fighters are on a three-fight winning streak and boast a similar pedigree, which makes this an intriguing match-up.

The technically sound Mokebisi, a typical boxer-puncher, is a former WBF international bantamweight champion and also holds the South African junior featherweight belt, while Kholosi, an aggressive come-forward type of fighter, is still the national lightweight title-holder.

Both have been inactive for some time, primarily due to a lack of quality opposition. Mokebisi last fought in July last year, where she scored a points victory over Gabisile Tshabalala, while her opponent last saw action a year ago when she beat Raider Muleba.

In addition to the agreed-upon fight purses, tournament sponsors Heiders have committed an additional R50 000 bonus for the Fight-of-the-Night, with R40 000 going to the winner and R10 000 to the loser.

Rest of the bill: Women’s junior-featherweight (4 rounds) Lufuno Mutshayi v Monalisa Takane; Bantamweight (6 rounds) – Abel Ndaba v Thumelo Matsane; Welterweight (6 rounds) – Lybon Ntshani v Simphiwe Ntombela; Catchweight (4 rounds) – Damian Paisley v Keagan Mills. Boxing starts at 6pm.

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