A new era in SA boxing will be heralded at East London’s Orient Theatre in February when national boxing teams are selected to take the country to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The selection from February 11 to 16 will follow four-day trials involving all nine provinces as the SA National Boxing Organisation (Sanabo) embarks on a four-year programme to culminate in the Los Angeles Games.
However, the involvement of boxing in Los Angeles is still up in the air after the International Olympic Committee flagged the sport owing to several defects.
SA did not send boxers to the 2024 Paris Olympics after failure to qualify in several qualifying championships.
After sending a skeleton team of five boxers to the African Championships in DR Congo in October, where John Masamba won the gold medal while Gqeberha’s Lubabalo Lusizi bowed out when he came in overweight, Sanabo will start the team afresh with Orient Theatre set to be a hive of activity.
Sanabo’s Lwandiso Kwababana said all the provinces’ contenders would arrive in East London on February 11 with the first bout punching off the following day.
“There will be no seeding and boxers will compete in a round-robin to accumulate points,” he said.
The trials will be open to male and female boxers aged between 19 and 40 in the elite category.
Male boxers will compete in 14 weight classes while the women will have two divisions less.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) will be in charge, with bouts run under their technical rules.
Kwababana said East London was chosen as hosts at the Sanabo council meeting in Johannesburg in 2024, when the provincial wing of the structure raised its hand.
“When no province opposed, the Eastern Cape was given the rights and we are hoping they will do a good job,” he said.
While boxers will effectively select themselves by their performance, their place in the team will not be guaranteed with Sanabo reviewing throughout the four years.
The previous SA team was hit by an exodus of boxers turning professional before the completion of the four years due to various reasons.
Boxers such as Tisetso Matikinca, Moyisi Booi, Luvuyo Mthintelwa, Sanele Sogcwayi, Simnikiwe Bongco, Siseko Teyisi left a big void in the SA team to fight for pay.
Sanabo is signing yet another memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Boxing SA to retain some of the amateur talents to boost the chances of Olympic qualification.
SA have not sent boxers to the Olympics since Duncan Village’s Ayabonga Sonjica and Simpiwe Lusizi of Mdantsane blazed a trail at the 2012 London Games.
Daily Dispatch
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