KuGompo City female boxing promoter Monica Goci is confident her Women In Boxing Series tournament will be a huge success despite the challenges facing women’s boxing.
Goci will stage the series for the third year in a row when her Olag GMM Promotions presents a five-bout tournament at the Scenery Park community hall on Sunday.
The show will be headlined for the SA title clash for the first time when Nomandithi Ndyambo clashes with Nobengazi Booth for the vacant SA female junior middleweight title.
Goci was forced to bring other boxers from other provinces due to the shallow pool of women boxers in the province.
Despite securing some, others withdrew, forcing a male bout to be included in the programme, though the series calls for exclusive women’s bouts.
Two of the bouts will see KwaZulu-Natal boxers pitted against each other in a rare occurrence of them fighting in another province, especially one considered the boxing hub in the country.
Goci said she had no choice but to bring boxers from other regions due to the absence of women fighters in the province.
“As has been raised before, there is a shallow pool of women boxing in the province, so we had to spend money by bringing boxers from other provinces,” she said.
In an all-KwaZulu-Natal clash, Ayanda Ndonyela and Nolwazi Myingelwa will face off in a super middleweight rematch.
Ndonyela outsmarted Myingelwa in their Mooi River clash a fortnight ago via a split decision, avenging her December 2024 loss in Pietermaritzburg.
As is often the case with women’s boxing, when fighters regularly fight each other on numerous occasions due to the shallow pool, the KwaZulu-Natal lasses will do it for the third time away from their province.
Another KwaZulu-Natal derby will see Nolwazi Mabaso and Misiwe Ndlovu resume hostilities following their previous featherweight clash.
They fought on the undercard of the Ndonyela-Myingelwa bout at the beginning of March, with Mabaso prevailing on points.
The female bout between Cape Town’s Asisipho Mhluzana and Duncan Village’s Zukhanye Mazaka has since been replaced by a clash between men, as Vuyisani Goci and Ibanathi Manana lock horns, dealing yet another blow to women’s boxing.
Matchmaker Luyanda Kana said Mhluzana signed a contract to fight in North West as she chases more opportunities to gain experience.
Despite all the challenges, Goci said spectators should brace for thrilling bouts, as had often been the case with boxing tournaments held at the venue.
“People already know that we organise exciting tournaments, and this one will be no different,” she said.
The show will also feature a vacant provincial junior featherweight title clash between old trial horse Asandiswa Nxokwana and Monalisa Takane from Kirkwood.
Nxokwana, from West Bank in KuGompo City, is considered a veteran despite having fought only 16 times, half of them losses.
She will be vying to snap her three-fight losing streak, having won just once in her last five bouts.
Daily Dispatch