Eastern Cape boxer Ayabonga Meko’s gold-medal-winning performance at the Eurasian Dauria Cup youth championships in Russia last weekend is an important step in knocking SA amateur boxing back into shape.
The 18-year-old, from KwaNojoli (formerly Somerset East), and Oyisa Wanga represented SA at the championships, which featured countries renowned for their strong amateur boxing pedigree such as Cuba, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the hosts.
But that did not faze Meko, who eliminated a tough Cuban opponent in the first round to become the first South African fighter to do so since Hawk Makepula in 1995.
Continuing his excellent run at the championships, the youngster became the first boxer to win a gold for SA in Europe at the youth level.
Exuding confidence under coach Luyanda Dibela, Meko would not be denied as he blitzed his way through the 57kg category en route to dominating Russian opponent Yeronne Veitia in the finals.
Meko already proved his amateur credentials on the international stage and should form the core of the SA team to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
This was despite Veitia enjoying home-ground advantage and raucous support from the partisan crowd.
The bout was voted as the best of the tournament, cementing Meko’s status on the world stage.
The grade 10 pupil at Johnson Nqonqoza Senior Secondary School has now set his sights on bringing home a medal from the Olympic Games.
This bodes well for amateur boxing in SA, which has been suffering a slow, painful decline, having failed to make its mark at top international championships in a while.
The SA amateur boxing team has been rocked by an exodus of boxers to the professional ranks, robbing the country of representation at the Olympics.
Simnikiwe Bongco, who won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, ditched the amateur vest to fight professionally, joining peers such as Tisetso Matikinca, Amzolele Dyeyi, Moyisi Booi and Siseko Teyisi and leaving the SA team depleted.
Amateur body the SA National Boxing Organisation, which recently elected a new executive, has again highlighted the need to make its memorandum of understanding with Boxing SA more enforceable to help retain its top fighters, especially the medal hopefuls.
Meko already proved his amateur credentials on the international stage and should form the core of the SA team to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, hopefully helping to end the drought brought about by the country having not participated in the global showpiece since the London Games in 2012.
The job starts now and, as Meko has shown, SA is rich in young boxing talent.
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.