The success of Duncan Village boxer Phumelela Cafu in Japan, where he upset the odds by winning the WBO junior bantamweight title from local hero Kosei Tanaka this week, has again shone the light on the Buffalo City metro about the need to assist the sport.
This region has a reputation of being one of the boxing hubs in the country, with the exploits of its boxers felt beyond the borders, but there are no foot prints from the government to supplement that.
From the days of Mbulelo Botile, who was the first boxer from the shack-littered township to win a world title when he wrested the IBF bantamweight crown from Colombian Harold Mestre in 1995, the area where abject poverty can be felt in the streets has continued to defy the odds by churning out world- class fighters.
But there is still no proper boxing gymnasium, with youngsters using makeshift training methods housed in rundown buildings to hone their skills.
The gymnasiums operating from shacks are inaccessible on rainy days as the area is prone to flooding, and the majority of them have no electricity, rendering it impossible to train during the night.
Boxing has always been regarded as a poor man’s sport which offers a way out of poverty for scores of families.
The same can be said about Duncan Village rival Mdantsane, even though the latter regards itself as modernised due to the smaller number of shacks.
It is sad that BCM does not return the favour by ensuring that proper facilities are provided to inspire others to use boxing as tool to create a better life for themselves.
Despite these humble settings, boxers from the two townships excel in the ring, attracting the attention of Johannesburg trainers with financial muscle to poach them.
Their decision to leave the region is due to lack of opportunities back home while the dire training facilities also play a big role.
But they never abandon their roots and during their fights they still carry the BCM flag, putting the region in the international map.
It is sad that BCM does not return the favour by ensuring that proper facilities are provided to inspire others to use boxing as tool to create a better life for themselves.
Cafu is now on a world boxing pedestal, with bigger opportunities beckoning, yet there is nothing back home to serve as a legacy for him, just like others before him.
His amateur rival-turned friend and stablemate Sivenathi Nontshinga was in a similar position before unfortunately losing his IBF junior-flyweight title in Japan two days before Cafu’s historic feat.
Nontshinga was the lone world champion in SA, yet he was not treated as such back home as apathy generally accompanied his title reign.
He may have lost his world title but his career is far from being finished as, at 25, age is still on his side to win another belt.
It is time BCM puts its money where its mouth is by assisting boxing in the region.
DispatchLIVE
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