Phumlani’s Azasakhe Jamani is so distraught over the cancellation of her SA lightweight title clash against Bonita van Jaarsveldt that she is not sure if she will ever get back in the ring.
The fight had been due to take place at the Grand West Casino in Cape Town on Saturday as part of the Fight Club Promotions tournament headlined by Gqeberha fighter Owethu Rula’s WBF flyweight title clash against Simangele Hadebe.
Shrouded in uncertainty from the outset, the bout was first scheduled for August 8, then moved to August 22.
Red lights began to flash for Jamani when there was no word about the time and place for her premedical examination in the days leading up to the rescheduled tournament.
Her trainer, Monde Banjwa, said numerous inquiries to the organisers on whether the fight was going ahead drew a blank.
“We suspected that something was wrong, especially when we did not receive flight tickets,” he said.
Jamani has been chasing the title shot since June 2025, but there were numerous hiccups, including Van Jaarsveldt’s last-minute withdrawal from their December clash in Soweto.
Jamani ended up facing Malawian Adidiya Mimu, who surprised her with a fifth-round stoppage.
After bouncing back to winning ways with a points decision over Cicilia Pitiseni in March, Jamani went after Van Jaarsveldt again through Fight Club Promotions, organisers of the all-women show in Cape Town.
However, the promotion was reportedly hit by financial challenges, with Boxing SA refusing to give the tournament the green light.
The two parties were embroiled in a court battle on Thursday, after which a statement was released that the tournament had been postponed, though no new date was given.
For Jamani, the news felt like a punch to the solar plexus as she had overcome disruptions in her preparations to finally get her title shot.
With her boxing club, Lumanyano, sharing the Phumlani community hall with political party meetings, she was often forced to take days off from her training sessions.
“But we found alternatives because Jamani was hungry for this title and it would have realised her boxing dream,” Banjwa said.
Women’s boxing is struggling in the Eastern Cape, leading some fighters to seek activity in tournaments held in other regions.
However, this has presented its own challenges as there is no guarantee that all the tournaments will go ahead.
“This is really tough for our women boxers because sometimes they turn down an offer to feature in a tournament in favour of the other, which eventually does not take place,” Banjwa said.
“It is really frustrating for us because we put in so much work in preparations amid disruptions, only to be told the fight is no longer taking place.”
Banjwa said he was keeping his fingers crossed that a new date for the fight would be announced.
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