The green light given to the provincial lightweight title clash in Komani on Saturday will take Hlumelo Gingxana towards a history-making feat when he faces Aphiwe Magobiyane.
Boxing SA approved Magobiyane for the vacant title after amending its rule of barring boxers coming from losses from contesting for titles.
After being frustrated for close to a year by former champion Siseko Makeleni’s shenanigans before the Mthatha boxer was finally stripped of the title, Gingxana will be chasing a history of becoming the first boxing champion from the Braelyn area in East London.
To make it even more remarkable, his younger brother Oyisa Gingxana will be looking to join him as the only two champions from the area when he contests the provincial junior bantamweight belt against Athi Klaas in Ngqushwa next weekend.
The trainer of the Gingxana brothers, Lonki Witbooi, said the siblings were chuffed about their upcoming history-making bouts.
“They push each other to the limit, and their commitment is unrivalled. All I need to do is polish technique and come up with strategies.”
— Lonki Witbooi, trainer of the Gingxana brothers
“The Gingxana brothers are just a year apart, so they are like twins, and everything they do, they do it together,” he said. “The fact that they will become the first champions in the area is a big deal for them and it is motivating them to double their efforts.
“They push each other to the limit, and their commitment is unrivalled. All I need to do is polish technique and come up with strategies.”
The brothers who are yet to suffer a loss shared a tournament for the first time in August at Guild Theatre, where they scored resounding victories, with Hlumelo knocking out Ndibulele Ngqamza while Oyisa dominated Athule Ncedani to a unanimous decision.
The wins took them to provincial title shots, with Hlumelo again pushing for a clash against Makeleni before Makeleni again pulled out of the fight and was replaced by Magobiyane.
Witbooi, who has been fighting for Hlumelo to get his dues, admitted that facing Magobiyane would present more challenges.
“I knew Magobiyane when he trained under Amanda Magatya in Mdantsane, and I also watched him against Sizani [Lonwabo],” he said.
“He is a good and dangerous boxer, and I feel he was not properly fit for Sizani. Otherwise we could have seen a different outcome. This time he will come better prepared, so we are in for a very difficult bout — but we are prepared.”
Coming in as a dark horse, Magobiyane nearly caused an upset when he buckled Sizani’s legs in the first round before finally succumbing to a body shot in the fourth round in November to stretch knockout specialist Sizani’s record to five stoppages in as many bouts.
The fact that the bout was in the junior lightweight is believed to have contributed to Magobiyane’s loss, as he had to reduce weight, while he will not be required to do so against Gingxana.
“He is very tall for a junior lightweight, and I think he will be stronger in the lightweight,” said Witbooi.
The loss to Sizani was Magobiyane’s second in four bouts, while Hlumelo has won four bouts, one draw, and three by stoppages.
The tournament staged by Pepzin Promotions is the third of six shows funded by the provincial department of sport, recreation, arts and culture.
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