Boxers in the Western Cape will be in action again this coming Saturday after a long absence from the ring due to the lockdown brought about by the Coronavirus.

That is the good news from adv. Kwababana, Secretary General of Western Cape Boxing. He said at an administrative level, things are looking good again for the South African National Boxing Organisation (SANABO).

At a recent meeting in Johannesburg the interim management structure was confirmed by all the provincial delegates in attendance. They are currently working with Softball South Africa to get the financial and other administrative issues back where it is supposed to be.

The interim management team should also organise an annual general meeting.

But for local boxers the best news coming from that meeting was that they are allowed to resume training and fighting again after months of training on their own and a ban on competitions.

That said, adv. Kwababana emphasised that boxing needs to adhere to the strict Covid-19 guidelines issued by government. He said everybody involved was very excited about the latest developments.

Yes, we are very excited. Western Cape Boxing’s president, Mr Andrew Phokeng, issued instruction that clubs must make applications to the provincial federation for them to satisfy ourselves that they are ready for resumption. The same applies to events’ organisers.

This coming Saturday we will be having our first tournament, organised by PFC Promotions, in Goodwood. We will be putting our fight officials there, as we want to use this tournament  a benchmark or a test. Unfortunately, no spectators will be allowed, in accordance to Covid-19 protocols.

The fighters will be in their own bio bubbles at their homes, as we – unlike some of the bigger sports – cannot afford to host them in a bio bubble. They will be screened and sanitised and they will fight and leave again after their bout.

We also had to cut down on the number of bouts we can present. We need to make sure that everything works, and it will be difficult, but luckily for us our boxers do not have any comorbidities because they are young and fit.

It is the officials and coaches that we need to take care of, and they also need to take care of themselves.

So, we are happy with the good news and we are looking forward to hosting a tournament again!

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