Amateur boxer John Paul Masamba could not have proved his patriotism better than by winning a gold medal for the SA team after he was vilified as a traitor for helping a Japanese boxer prepare for a fight against Lerato Dlamini in August.
Masamba was the only boxer in the five-member SA team to bring back a medal when he bagged gold at the recently concluded African Boxing Championships in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
He and Gqeberha’s Lubabalo Lusizi were the only men in the SA team coached by East London woman trainer Noluvuyo Joxo.
Masamba managed to progress to the finals where he out-slugged Morocco’s Mohamed Alloua in their 63.5kg bout to take the gold. Lusizi could not participate after coming in overweight.
It was a sweet victory for Masamba, who was labelled a traitor for going to Japan to help Tomoki Kameda with sparring for his IBF featherweight title eliminator against Free State-born Dlamini.
Masamba said he was never worried about the criticism and used the opportunity to gain experience.
“Here was an opportunity to spar with a two-time world champion and people expected me to turn it down to prove my patriotism,” he said.
“I came back a better boxer after those sparring sessions but my patriotism was never questionable and being part of the SA team underlined my desire to help my country.”
Winning the medal was, however, scant consolation for Masamba after his dream of representing SA at the Paris Games went up in smoke because the SA National Boxing Organisation (Sanabo) failed to send boxers to the last Olympic qualifiers in Thailand.
Masamba needed just a few points to secure an Olympic ticket and was even prepared to fund his own trip to Thailand but Sanabo did not register its participation.
With Sanabo assembling a new team after its boxers left at the completion of the Olympics cycle to fight professionally, Masamba is the only remaining member.
He said he would remain in the unpaid ranks and help the new SA team to scale new heights.
“When I went to Japan, I wanted to test myself against a professional boxer and gauge my readiness for the pro ranks,” he said.
“While I did well, I still need to think about turning professional.”
Sanabo congratulated Masamba on winning the gold, which helped the SA team finish eighth out of 15 countries.
“Masamba’s win is a big achievement for the outgoing SA team and will help when Sanabo assembles a new team,” the boxing body said.
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