The dilapidated condition of East London’s Orient Theatre has forced organisers to move the SA team selection trials to Hemingways Casino in yet another blow to the iconic boxing venue.
The trials, which run from February 11 to 16, will see close to 90 boxers from nine provinces converge on East London in a four-day contest as they vie for a spot in the national team in both men’s and women’s elite categories.
The event will mark the first time East London hosts the trials after they were previously held in Durban where the SA team was selected over four years.
A hive of activity leading up to the event is planned, with the SA National Boxing Organisation (Sanabo) scheduling an executive meeting this week.
The amateur boxing regulator will also meet the local organising committee (LOC) at the department of sport, recreation, arts and culture offices in East London on Friday to iron out any glitches.
The LOC is made up of representatives from the department, which is one of the funders, the Eastern Cape Sports Council and Sanabo’s provincial wing, Ecabo.
LOC member Smally Menziwa said plans were at an advanced stage with the venue change causing no disruption.
“The ... venue was changed a while back but Sanabo is still listing Orient Theatre in its technical document,” he said.
Orient Theatre has been flagged for serious defects with Boxing SA appealing to the Buffalo City Metro to fix lights, leaking water pipes and the roof over the ring.
Despite its dilapidated condition, the hall still hosted tournaments, with the last being in December when Xaba Promotions organised a three-SA-titles fight show.
While the selected team will represent SA at qualifying championships leading to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Sanabo cautioned it would undergo a review process throughout the four years.
At the last trials in Durban, Sanabo selected two teams, with boxers from the B team being used to fill gaps in the A team during contingency situations.
Menziwa could not say if a B team would be selected again, saying the decision would be taken during the two upcoming Sanabo meetings.
However, the inclusion of boxing in the Los Angeles Games is still unclear after the International Olympic Committee threatened to remove it if amateur boxing bosses did not get their houses in order.
The International Boxing Association (IBA), which governs amateur boxing, was stripped of the rights to oversee the sport in the last two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris, leading to a splinter group calling itself World Boxing which is increasingly gaining membership.
However, Sanabo is still affiliated with the IBA despite the body facing international pressure over its dependency on Russian funding as its president Umar Kremlev allegedly enjoys close links with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
Daily Dispatch
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