It was a bad weekend for East London women’s boxing after two fighters returned dejected from Durban and Dubai, respectively.
Babalwa Nonqonqoto failed to lift the SA junior bantamweight in Durban on Friday, while Sharadene Fortuin saw her fight in Dubai, scheduled for Saturday, being called off at the last minute.
The first to stumble was Eastern Cape junior bantamweight champion Nonqonqoto, whose gutsy display in her SA title challenge against Thema Zuma fell agonisingly short.
Going into the bout after suffering two losses, Nonqonqoto fought her heart out, pressing the fight and giving the defending champion all sorts of problems for the better part of the clash.
Leaving nothing to chance, she threw everything but the kitchen sink at her opponent and convinced one of the judges to award her the fight.
However, due to the flash knock-down she suffered, the other two judges voted against her, causing her to lose by a split decision.
Nonqonqoto’s manager, Sam Williams, commended his charge’s gallant display while lamenting the knock-down that decided the fight.
“I am impressed with how she acquitted herself in her opponent’s backyard and the fact that she lost by a split decision tells you the whole story,” he said.
In Dubai, Fortuin’s trailblazing quest to become the first SA woman boxer to fight in the Arab nation hit a snag when the whole card was called off.
Fortuin had been scheduled to challenge Nastaran Fathi for the WBA Gold junior featherweight title on Saturday.
Though she underwent the official weigh-in, the tournament was cancelled with no explanation given.
The misfortune was a repeat of what befell Fortuin’s late friend, Leighandre Jegels, whose own bout in Saudi Arabia was also cancelled when she was already in the country.
Though Jegels’ fight was called off owing to the country’s conservative approach to women’s sport, Fortuin appeared to be a victim of challenges faced by organisers.
Event promoters RSG released a vague statement which said: “Unfortunately, circumstances have forced our hand to cancel the event.
“Our profound and immense apologies to the fighters, coaches and their teams.
“Furthermore, we extend this to our sponsors and officiating personnel involved, please pardon this last-minute adversity.”
While the East London women’s boxing fraternity was digesting the news, the postponement of the Women in Boxing Series show, scheduled to be held at the Scenery Park Community Hall on Sunday, was another blow.
The series has been held in six other venues around the country.
Fight promoter Monica Goci gave no reason, saying only that the show had been moved to March 2024.
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